


Unexpected Souvenirs

by DC_Ram



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-08-19 14:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 49,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8211320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DC_Ram/pseuds/DC_Ram
Summary: Toph's life in thrown into chaos with the arrival of a rather unexpected souvenir. However while she faces major life changes unseen a threat lurks in the shadows. Can our heroine overcome these new challenges and finally get the man of her dreams? Or will our stubborn Earth Bender give into the demons lurking around her?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Reunion

Toph felt unbelievably nauseated as she breathed in the sea air. It wasn't so much the strange scent that bothered her but rather her thoughts of sea food that made her feel sick. She began to fidget uncomfortably as she stood next to Aang. Toph debated going to sit next to the very pregnant Katara on a nearby bench that Aang had bent for her.

"I see it I see the ship!" Aang said. Katara turned her head smiled while Toph crossed her arms and smirked.

"That's great." Toph said sarcastically. Aang looked at his friend sheepishly before he used his glider to meet the passenger they were waiting (impatiently) for. Katara stood up with a groan and walked over to the younger woman. She wrapped her arms around Toph and rested her entire weight on the earth bender.

"Do you have to do that Toph?" Katara yawned. Toph raised an eyebrow before swatting off her friend.

"Afraid so. You're the motherly figure of the group, Sokka is the comic relief, Aang is the moral reasoning. That means I am the one who knocks you all down a few pegs when you all needed it." Toph said. Katara laughed and shook her head.

"Then what is Zuko?" Katara said. Toph waved away her question.

"If I had to guess he is the fatherly figure of the group. Oh Sugar Queen that means you married the wrong…OW!" Toph exclaimed. She tried to detach Katara's fingers from her ear as the older woman pulled on it hard.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Toph apologized. The pregnant woman held onto Toph's ear and began to twist.

"You're lucky you're pregnant or else you would be six feet under right now!" Toph snapped. The commotion drew Aang's attention away from the ship and he quickly turned around to break up the fight.

"Alright you two break it up." Aang said neutrally. Katara looked at her husband angrily before releasing Toph's ear. The Chief of Police rubbed her ear and glared.

"Geez I thought you were gonna rip my ear off." Toph snapped. Aang patted his friend on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Sweetie why don't you go sit down the ship won't be here for a few minutes yet." Aang said. Katara kissed her husband on the cheek before walking toward her bench.

"Thank you for not using your earth bending on her." Aang said. Toph sighed and tilted her head towards her friend.

"I'm not completely stupid Twinkle Toes. I'm not gonna risk the life of my future niece or nephew because my ear hurts." Toph said indignantly. Aang rolled his eyes and watched the ship slowly make its way to the docks.

"How are you doing by the way? I know the break up with Kanto was a nasty one." Aang murmured. He glanced behind him to make sure his wife was out of earshot before turning back to his friend.

"I'm doing fine Aang although I do think you and Zuko took things a step too far. I'm still cleaning up the scorch marks in my bedroom. Whatever happened to violence is never the answer?" Toph chuckled. Aang tightened his hold on his glider as he recalled that infuriating night.

Zuko, Aang and Toph were walking back to her apartment after a rather long a dull council meeting. Toph asked them to come inside for a quick beer before they left for their respective homes. She said she wanted to talk about the Extradition Policies that the council wanted to pass. So Zuko and Aang agreed if only to hammer out the finer details with her before the next council meeting. However when she opened the door to her apartment the two men saw Kanto laying on their bed with another girl. In an attempt to spare their friend Aang attempted to push her out into the hall but Toph heard them and attempted to lodge a bolder at her boyfriend.

The two men regarded the young woman as a little sister and were enraged by the sight. It was Zuko who attacked first but once Aang saw the look of betrayal on the young woman's face he wasn't far behind. Kanto barely had enough time to throw on his pants before the Firelord and Avatar chased him out of Toph's apartment. However what devastated the pair the most was Toph's reaction. The proud earth bender just stood there frozen from the weight of his actions.

"There are exceptions to every rule." Aang muttered angrily. Toph placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him her most convincing smile.

"I appreciate the fact that you're willing to beat someone up for me Twinkle Toes but your the conscience of our little group. Leave the fighting to me." Toph said. Aang didn't have a chance to say anything the Ship had finally reached the docks and was starting to let passengers off. Katara came up next to them and waited impatiently.

"There he is! Sokka!" Aang called. Truly blind on the wooden docks Toph waited for her best friend to reach them instead of running to him like she wanted. Katara on the other hand wasn't as patient, Toph heard her ran up to her brother and throw herself into his arms. He let out a small grunt before laughing.

"I missed you too little sis. But where are the little monsters-I mean kids?" Sokka said. Toph heard Katara smack her brother lightly.

"Zuko has them today. They're waiting for all of us at Air Temple Island." Katara said. Toph heard Katara step away from her brother but before she could move forward to embrace her best friend Aang beat her too it.

"Hey Aang it's good to see you too." Sokka said. The air bender pulled away slapping his brother in law on the shoulder.

"Quick say something Funny!" He said. Toph couldn't contain her snort. Katara heard shook her head disapprovingly at the younger woman.

"Ok I've been working on this one on the trip. Why did the man dump ground beef on his head? Because he wanted a meatier shower!" Sokka said. Aang and Katara didn't react but Toph turned her head away to hide her smile.

Over the years Toph and Sokka's friendship grew into a fairly strong bond. After the war the pair was inseparable Sokka often commissioned interesting projects and often asked Toph to assist him. Likewise Sokka was usually there to help Toph with her metal bending academy. The pair had even helped each other move when Aang and Zuko asked them both to come to Republic City. After that the pair were often seen together working cases and keeping crime off the street.

However about five years ago the gang was called to the South Pole to mourn the death of Sokka and Katara's grandmother. While Sokka insisted that Toph shouldn't come because she would be rendered helpless in the South Pole the young woman stood her ground and stood by her friends as they buried their loved one. Unfortunately Toph was also there to comfort her best friend when Suki left him at the South Pole two days after. It was then Sokka had decided that he needed to stay at the South Pole and help his father lead the tribe. However that didn't change the pair's relationship the pair corresponded through letters for the past five years. It was difficult for Toph because of her blindness but she forced her secretary to read each letter and write down Toph's responses. But now that their Tribe's condition was once again stable under Chief Hakoda, Sokka was sent to be the Southern Water Tribe's ambassador.

"Toph Beifong stop hiding like a door mouse and come give me a hug!" Sokka snapped. Toph turned her head back to the group and waved a hand in front of her face.

"I would if I could see where you are." She snapped. Before she could get out another snarky comment a pair of strong arms shot out and pulled her into a warm chest. Toph fought to keep herself from blushing through all that time Toph's crush on Sokka hadn't gone away. If anything it had grown into something deeper.

She lifted her hand up to his cheek and began to run her fingers over his face. No longer was there any trace of baby fat or any acne bumps. Instead Toph felt smooth skin under her fingers until she felt hair on his chin.

"So you finally managed to grow something other than peach fuzz huh." Toph said sarcastically. Sokka chuckled and pulled his friend close.

"I missed you Chief." Sokka murmured. Toph rested her head on his shoulder and held him tighter.

"I missed you too Snoozles." Toph admitted. Before she realized what he was doing Sokka lifted her off the ground and spun her around once making her yelp in surprise.

"Finally the notorious Blind Bandit admits she missed me!" Sokka exclaimed happily. Toph smacked him on the shoulders in reaction to his teasing.

"I can't believe I snuck out of work early for you!" She snapped. Sokka laughed and set the petite young woman on her feet however he didn't release her instead he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Alright I'll stop my teasing...for now." Sokka said. Toph flicked her eyes to the side in a failed attempt to roll her eyes. She entertained the idea of pushing her friend into the ocean just to teach him a lesson. Recognizing that conniving glint in her eye, Aang let go of his wife to step between the two of them before Toph could do anything terrible.

"Alright you two lets catch the ferry to Air Temple Island before Zuko let's Bumi and Kya destroy the house." Aang said. The three of them walked on ahead leaving Toph to walk unsteadily on the wooden dock. She barely took three steps before she felt a hand take hers. Despite the fact that it had been so long Toph recognized it as Sokka's.

"Hurry up or you'll fall behind." He said. Toph stepped forward with confidence until she was right beside him.

"Just like old times huh." Sokka said. Toph hid her smile by looking down.

…

Toph woke up first thing in the morning and began to stretch out her sore muscles. I have really got to stop sleeping on the couch, she thought lazily. The radio was still playing in the background so the young woman reached over to turn it off with a loud yawn. Finally she placed her feet on the cold stone floor and sent out several vibrations.

Everything appeared to be exactly as she had left it when she arrived home from Air Temple Island. However she sensed another heartbeat apart from her own. Toph slammed her foot down again just to double check but sure enough there it was around her abdomen a small fluttering heartbeat.

Toph stood up and ran out of her apartment ignoring the fact that she was sporting a severe case of bed head and wore no bindings under her baggy t-shirt. She climbed up three flights of stairs and sprinted down the hall to the last room on her right. She pounded on the door three times and waited hopping from one foot to the next. When the occupant of the apartment didn't answer the door Toph pounded on it again. After a few seconds she heard the familiar click of the lock.

"Seriously what do you police officers have against sleep? Come inside Toph it's freezing out there." An elderly woman growled. Toph stopped her hopping to follow the woman's instructions.

"Izu I need you to tell me I'm hallucinating." Toph said. The elderly woman turned to glare at the Chief of Police.

"If that's all you want than get out I'm too old to indulge you." Izu snapped. However Toph stood her ground, in a manner of speaking to the elderly woman the young woman looked ready to bolt out of the door.

"I think I'm pregnant." Toph blurted out. Izu raised an eyebrow, tightened her blue robe around her, before grabbing the earth bender and forcefully placing her on a stool near the kitchen.

"Geez why didn't you say so. I swear you youngsters are getting more frustrating by the day. Stop your panicking and hold still." Izu said. She bent some water out from her sink and instructed Toph to lift up her shirt. Toph winced at Izu's icy touch but kept her complaints to herself. After a few minutes of probing Izu bent the water back into the sink and let it flow down the drain.

"If you're hallucinating then I'm a fire bender. You're definitely pregnant around 6 weeks I'd say." Izu said. Toph shook her head.

"This can't be happening. You swore to me that I wouldn't get pregnant if I drank that fowl tea every day." Toph snapped. She shook her head and ran her fingers roughly through her tangled hair.

"Did you forget to take it one day?" Izu prompted. Toph counted back the weeks attempting to jog her memory but she couldn't seem to straighten her thoughts out.

"The day before Kanto and I broke up. Ugh I can't remember if I took it or not." Toph said angrily. Izu made a clicking noise with her tongue that annoyed the young earth bender.

"Yup that will do it, you only need to be careless once." Izu said. Toph glared angrily at the elderly woman.

"And how does that help me." She snapped. The elderly woman laughed and sat next to Toph on the opposite stool. Toph was tempted to earth bend the stool away from her but thought better of it. The old bat would probably evict me if I had the gall to do something like that, Toph thought angrily.

"Ahh I swear when you get to be my age the back is the first thing to go. Listen if you want to whine and complain by all means let it out now and let's be done with it. But you have to face the reality it happened and at this point you are now responsible for someone else. You're hardly in a position of desperation either, you have the financial means and emotional maturity (I should hope at your age) to take care of this kid." Izu said. Toph groaned and leaned back on the counter.

"Izu you know as well as anybody I'm not cut out to be a mom. I never wanted to be someone's mother…" Before Toph could say anything the old woman threw her hands up and let out a groan of frustration.

"You young people are so infuriating I swear. When you become sexually active you have to accept that there is a possibility of having a child." Izu snapped. That was the last of her patients, Toph stood up and shook her head in frustration.

"I'm gonna go and complain to someone who is not so old." She announced. Izu sighed and opened the door for the earth bender.

"Probably a good idea. If I had to listen to anymore I might have hit you over the head with a skillet." Izu snapped before slamming the door in the young woman's face. Toph stood there for a few minutes before walking back to her apartment to get dressed for the day.

"I hope that I'm not that infuriating when I'm 86." Toph muttered under her breath. She took three calming breaths before she walked down the stairs to her apartment. Before she could get there she sensed that there was someone standing in front of her door knocking repeatedly. She tapped her toes a few times just to make sure it was who she thought before addressing the man in front of her door.

"Sokka what are you doing here?" Toph said. She felt him jump and spin around to face her. She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side waiting for an answer.

"I came to see if you wanted to have breakfast with me just the two of us. You know once you've put some clothes on." Sokka stammered. The earth bender slammed her hand to her forehead as she realized her state of dress or rather undress.

"The door is unlocked come in. Let me get dressed and we can go." Toph said quickly. The man in front of her needed no more incentive than that he opened the door and observed her apartment. Toph slid past him and opened the door to her bed room. She grabbed the first clothes her hands touched. As she was dressing Sokka noticed several scorch marks on the walls of her apartment.

"Did you get into a fight with Zuko or something?" Sokka asked lightly. In the back of his mind he was frantically running through a list of worst case scenarios that led to those marks being on the wall. Toph tugged her shirt over her head and tossed it into the hamper on her right.

"Someone got into a fight with Zuko." Toph muttered to herself. She pulled on her bindings and began to annoying process of tying them.

"Toph?" Sokka asked through the door.

"Hang on Sokka I don't really want to talk with my clothes off." Toph said. That was all it took for Sokka to leave her alone.

Sokka looked around Toph's apartment in an attempt to distract himself from the alarming marks over her walls. The small apartment was simple only containing the things Toph needed. There were no pictures on the walls no trinkets that graced the mantel piece of the fireplace in the living room. She doesn't even have a plant, Sokka thought. He flipped the lid of a chest that was placed across from the couch. He saw his chicken scratch handwriting and smile she kept every single letter he had sent her over the last five years. He lifted one letter and opened it. He noticed that each letter had been run over with some sort of object so many times that he could feel the words with the tips of his fingers. He heard the door to Toph's bedroom open, quickly Sokka put everything back the way he found it and attempted to step into the hall like nothing was wrong.

"You do realize closed doors don't prevent me from seeing anything nosy." Toph snapped. Sokka slumped forward in defeat.

"That is gonna take some getting used to again." Sokka murmured.

"They're dented so I can read without help. Hate or thank my secretary she helped me do it." Toph murmured. He grinned before he noticed the clothes she was wearing.

"Since when do you wear tight shirts?" Sokka asked. Toph wore a simple white shirt that clung to her curves and some baggy green shorts that cut off about mid-thigh and of course no shoes.

"Because my armor is bent on using metal bending baggy shirts make it really uncomfortable to move around in so I've been wearing tops like these. It's just second nature now." Toph said casually. Sokka shrugged accepting her answer he slipped an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the door.

"Come on lets go get some food." Sokka said. Toph felt her stomach rebel against the idea but she ignored it.

"I thought Sugar Queen would have made you a big breakfast." Toph murmured.

"I snuck out before she could. If there is one thing I noticed about the party last night is that my baby sister has fully accepted the vegetarian life style." Sokka said. The pair walked out of the apartment complex and down the street. The pair decided to go to Yun's, a restaurant they used to frequent whenever Toph had to pull all night stake outs.

The second they entered the restaurant they heard a plate shatter before they were both wrapped in a hug.

"My two favorite customers it's been so long." An old man said. Sokka chuckled before patting the elderly man on the back.

"It's good to see you Cho." Sokka said.

"I can't see but the sentiment is the same." Toph said. Cho laughed and escorted the two of them to a table in the back where the pair used to sit.

"It's good to have you back councilmen. Without you Chief Beifong doesn't often come here. When she does she's usually covered in mud or soot and often just places an order to go. I'm assuming you both want the usual." Cho said. Toph turned bright red and nodded. Cho walked away leaving them alone.

"I didn't realize you missed me that much." Sokka teased. Toph shrugged.

"I didn't I've been busy." Toph lied. Sokka leaned forward with a smug look on his face.

"You do realize when you lie you always look away from me." He flicked him in the head to shut him up. She could smell the meat before Cho even made his way across the room. The heavy scent of grease filled her nose causing her stomach to react. Toph broke away from the table and ran out the back door into the ally. She tossed aside the lid of trashcan and emptied the contents of her stomach. She felt a warm hand sweep her bangs away from her face the other rubbed her back soothingly. Once Toph stopped her heaving Sokka shoved a glass of water into her hands.

"For sprits sake Toph, if you were sick why didn't you say anything?" Sokka asked. Toph took a sip of water and swished it around in her mouth before she spit it out. She tilted her head to chug the rest of the water but Sokka put his hand over the mouth of the glass.

"Slowly I don't want you heaving on me again." Sokka said. She signed and leaned against the ally wall.

"I don't think it works that way." Toph murmured. None the less she took a small sip to appease her friend.

"Stomach flues are…" Toph cut off her friend.

"It's not a stomach flu." She murmured. She took a larger sip of water. Sokka looked at her like she was crazy.

"Alright if it's not the stomach flu then what is it? You seemed fine when I met you at the docks and at the party." Sokka murmured. He came up and placed a hand under her bangs and over her forehead. She slapped away his hand and pulled down her bangs.

"I'm pregnant you meathead!" She snapped. Sokka blinked a few times before he processed what she had said.

"Pregnant like a bird came and dropped off a diamond for you or did you pick it up from a cabbage patch?" Sokka said. She looked up, like he had said the foulest thing in the world.

"Are you serious?" Toph snapped. She raised her fist to hit him but he caught it before she could.

"I'm sorry." He said. She jerked her fist away from his hold and shook her head angrily.

"Whatever." She snapped. Sokka attempted to reach out to hug her but she stepped away. He dropped his arms and turned to face to other wall in a nonthreatening manner. He recognized this type of behavior she wasn't mad at him she was mad at herself and as perusal she lashed out at anyone within hearing distance. He decided the best thing to do was gave her a few minutes to calm down.

"Have you told anyone else?" Sokka asked. She shook her head.

"I just found out this morning. My land lady is a water bender from the Northern Water Tribe she confirmed that what I was sensing was the baby's heartbeat." Toph sighed. Sokka realized that was probably the reason for Toph's state of undress when she came down the stairs that morning. Sokka placed his hand on her abdomen making her yelp in surprise.

"That's amazing you can feel his heartbeat! That's strange I can't feel a thing." Sokka said. She swatted his hand away.

"Of course you can't it's so small that I can barely sense it." Toph snapped. Sokka rubbed the back of his hand in an attempt to sooth the ache.

"He is Kanto's right?" Sokka asked. Toph nodded sadly before sitting down in the alleyway letting her head fall back against the wall.

"Why are you so sad? I'm sure he'll be thrilled when he finds out." Sokka said reassuringly. Toph shook her head.

"I don't have a way to contact him. Last month Aang, Zuko and I caught him sleeping around with another girl. That's why you saw those scorch marks Twinkle Toes and Sparky ran him out of Republic City before I could even blink." Toph murmured. Sokka gripped the hilt of his sword angrily, Kanto was lucky that he had gotten out of Republic City when he did or else Sokka would have gone to have some words with the cheating bastard.

"Do you know what you want to do?" Sokka asked. Toph put her head in her hands.

"I have no idea."


	2. Chapter Two

Katara was in the kitchen singing to herself as she was cooking breakfast for herself and her family. She looked up from the radish she was cutting when she began to hear raised voices. She recognized who it was and with a long sigh began counting backwards from five. When she hit zero Sokka swept into the room with a very green Toph in his arms. As though a fire had been lit under her shoes Katara began clearing away the pots and pans that were haphazardly scattered around the counter.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Your brother kidnapped me." Toph groaned. Katara glared pointedly at Sokka who rolled his eyes and shook his head as he set her down on the kitchen counter. He captured her face in his hands his cold touch soothed Toph's flushed cheeks making her let out a small sigh of relief.

"You've been vomiting all night I'm concerned that something is wrong. Remember it's not just you anymore." Sokka chided. Katara had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing at Toph's exasperated expression.

"I keep telling you its morning sickness. What do you want from me?" Toph snapped.

"I want you to stop vomiting." Sokka exclaimed. There was an outraged moment of silence as both women looked at him with expressions of outrage. He attempted to take back his words but all that came out was an incomprehensible jumble of sounds.

"If I could control it I'd do it on you right now." Toph snapped. Before Sokka could open his mouth to retort Katara placed her hand over his mouth.

"Alright you two break it up. Sokka step away and I will settle this once and for all." Katara said neutrally. Once her brother did as she asked Katara placed her hand on Toph's forehead held it there for a few seconds before placing it on her stomach.

"Yup you're pregnant." Katara confirmed.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed." Toph said sarcastically.

"Toph has been sick all night, I don't understand how can it be morning sickness? Aren't you supposed to get sick in the morning hence the name?" Sokka asked. Toph tossed up her hands in defeat before she hopped off the kitchen counter to take a seat in a wooden stool next to him.

"Ugh men are you all so frustrating or is it just the ones I know? Morning sickness is just what some liar called it. Unfortunately you can get sick at any time at any place on any day or night." Katara explained. Sokka and Toph both groaned at the thought making Katara erupt into a fit of giggles.

"Yes just go ahead and laugh at my struggles. I'm going home I still have a guest room to clear out and turn into a nursery." Toph said sarcastically. The water bender smiled at her friend sympathetically.

"At least stay for breakfast then I can go over and help you." Katara offered. Toph smiled at her friend and shook her head.

"Thanks but no thanks Aang would kill me if he knew I was forcing you to do hard labor when you're so close to giving birth. Besides there are only a few dusty boxes and some old furniture that need to be sorted out or thrown away. Once I'm finished with that I'm just going to clear out all the dust and repaint the walls the paint in there is beginning to chip. I don't think I need to get furniture for the baby's room until I'm further along right?" Toph asked.

"Sounds about right although personally I'd hold off on painting the walls until you know the gender of the baby." Katara said logically.

"I thought about holding off too but here's the thing my lease says specifically that I can't repaint the walls unless it's the same color the walls were to begin with." Toph explained. Katara huffed before turning back to fixing breakfast.

"Well I guess it can't be helped. What about you Sokka are you staying for breakfast or are you just going to grab a change of clothes?" Katara asked. Sokka looked up at his sister sheepishly, he had practically been living at Toph's apartment ever since he got to Republic City.

"I'm just going to go change then I'm heading back with Toph." Sokka confirmed. Katara put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Sokka why don't you just take the rest of your stuff and go officially go live with Toph. I'm not mad nor am I trying to kick you out but let's face it you hate the vegetarian lifestyle, its closer to your office…" Toph cut her off.

"Wait a second don't I get a say in this!" She said. The siblings turned toward the earth bender who looked completely flustered at the suggestion.

"In a few months there is going to be a baby in my apartment this isn't a permeate solution. Where in spirits name are you going to sleep I only have one spare bedroom that is currently spoken for." Toph argued. Katara nodded reluctantly in agreement Toph had a point but Katara was getting tired of watching her brother scurry back and forth between houses like a thief.

"Alright, alright why not have a trial period? I'll live at Toph's apartment for one month and if things aren't working out than I'll start looking for my own place. Sound fair?" Sokka asked. Toph nodded reluctantly and Sokka stood up.

"Alright I'm going to go get my stuff this time try not to ditch me." He said. Toph smirked and waved him away. Katara watched how the two interacted with one another with great suspicion.

"Are you ok with this?" Katara asked. Toph shrugged and rolled her shoulders in an attempt to rid herself of the stiff feeling at the base of her spine.

"I'll make it work somehow. Don't tell your brother but I like it when he's around just getting letters from him isn't enough." Toph said fondly. Katara sighed sadly and went around to embrace her friend.

"I still think you need to talk to him about your feelings." She chided. Katara had her suspicions that Toph harbored secret feelings for Sokka but she thought she was overthinking it so Katara never brought up the topic with either of them. The day that Aang, Katara, Zuko and Toph left the South Pole Katara's suspicions were magnified by the way Sokka and Toph embraced. They clung to each other as though something horrible would happen if they let go. When they finally released Toph threw her arms around Sokka one last time. He indulged her but the final hug was much shorter than the first. After that Toph was silent as they flew home her face betrayed nothing but boredom so Katara waited for them to make camp before she ambushed Toph.

"I knew I should never have told you about all this. Sokka's coming so let's change the subject." Toph sighed dejectedly. Katara nodded reluctantly before she returned to the small stove to salvage the remains of a burnt breakfast. A few seconds later the two women heard Sokka step into the kitchen.

"Toph, Aang told me to tell you that Commander Flynn is phoning for you. Apparently it's urgent." Sokka said. Toph lifted her face up in surprise. She hopped off the stool and ran towards Aang's study where Katara insisted he keep the phone. Sokka was staring off after her that he didn't see Katara slam a wooden spoon across the back of his head. The blow landed with a loud 'WHACK' making him yelp and clutch the back of his head in agony.

"What did you do that for?" He demanded.

"You're all a bunch of morons!" She declared. Sokka stared at her his mouth open flabbergasted. He backtracked trying to think of what he had done to merit such a painful blow however when nothing came to mind Sokka passed it off as pregnancy hormones and let it go.

When Toph rushed into Aang's office he got up from his chair and waited for her to sit down before he handed over the large ear piece over to her. Toph took it with a nod of thanks ignoring her former student as he sat on the desk.

"This is Chief Beifong." Toph said. She heard arguing on the other side of the line with a reluctant sigh Toph drummed her fingers on the desk waiting for someone to answer her.

"Chief I'm sorry to bug you on your day off but we have a big problem." Commander Flynn exclaimed. Toph pulled the ear piece away from her sensitive ear surprised at how loud her commander was being.

"Flynn just calm down and tell me what's wrong." Toph ordered.

"We just received death letters for the Avatar, Master Katara, their children, Firelord Zuko, Councilman Sokka and you Chief Beifong." He said. Toph felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach. She took a shaky breath before schooling her features into indifference.

"Is it hunting season already? Alright you know the drill I want protection details for each of the active members on the council. Also I want a safe house set up for with round the clock guards especially on the children and Master Katara who will go into labor any day now. Also contact the Fire Nation and warn them that Princess Izumi might be in danger. Let me guess these letters are coming from Azula Sympathizers correct?" Toph asked. She could feel Aang stiffen up next to her his erratic heartbeat was distracting her so she motioned for him to wait for out in the hallway.

"I believe so, each letter signed down with the usurpers. Which matches the previous death threats we've received before." Flynn muttered. Toph let out a frustrated sigh.

"I keep telling these stupid council members that this issue will never be resolved until I'm allowed to go outside my jurisdiction to hunt these guys down. Anyway let's not assume anything someone else could be orchestrating this and blaming it on Azula Sympathizers. Track down any lead you can find. Once everyone is secure I'll come down to the station and lead the hunt for the culprits." Toph murmured. She heard him shuffle some papers around on his desk before he answered her.

"Chief are you sure you want to take on this investigation given your condition?" Flynn asked bluntly. She raised an eyebrow leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Commander Flynn until I go into labor I am still the Chief of Police. Right now my friends are in danger so let's focus on our jobs and not on my condition." Toph snapped.

"Yes Chief. I'll see you in a bit just be careful." He said. She chuckled as he abruptly hung up the phone. Toph blew her bangs away from her nose before she stood up from Aang's desk. Aang stepped back into his office and shut the door behind him.

"More death threats, what's the plan?" Aang asked. While he knew the truth Toph still didn't want to tell her friend.

"Yes. Flynn is setting up a safe house for you and your family. Get them ready I'll keep guard until my officers show up." She ordered. Aang watched the face of his former teacher's expression. While to the casual observer the only expression on her face was boredom but Aang knew her well enough to see from the occasional twitch of the corner of her mouth, she was running over ideas in her head.

"I can…" Aang was cut off by the door to his office flying open. Sokka came in with a giggling Bumi and Kya balanced under each arm. Aang smiled and knelt down so that his children could run into his arms.

"Hey you two Katara says that if the situation isn't life threatening to come and have breakfast." Sokka said. Toph turned her head towards Aang and crossed her arms in a silent order for him to talk to his wife and kids about the temporary move. Aang let out a reluctant sigh before turning to his kids.

"Come on you two we need to have a family meeting." Aang said. Bumi and Kya groaned their displeasure before marching out of the office leaving Sokka and Toph alone.

"What's going on?" Sokka asked. Toph explained what she knew quickly. She could feel Katara's heartbeat speed up anxiously making the young earth bender feel like a jerk for asking the family to move. Sokka could read all of this on her face and went up to hug her. Before he could get his arms around her Toph put a hand on his chest.

"Don't." She ordered.

"Why?" He whispered. Toph put her head down so that he wouldn't see her face. However she didn't try to remove her hand from his chest Toph told herself that this was because she could sense his vibrations much easier this way.

"Because I'll start to depend on you and…" She stopped herself from saying anymore. Sokka's face softened and he gently placed his hand over hers. She attempted to take her hand back but Sokka was having none of that he tightened his grip on her hand making her cheeks turn bright pink.

"And?" he prompted. Katara's nagging words rang in Toph's head she almost told Sokka everything right then and there. Before she could Toph remembered the situation they were in and kicked those fanciful thoughts away.

"And now is not the time for all of this sentimental nonsense I have a job to do." Toph snapped. She pulled her hand away with a jerk. She couldn't get out of Aang's office fast enough. Thankfully before Sokka could chase after her there was a knock on the door. Toph practically threw open the door only to face Flynn, Zuko and about ten of her best officers.

"Hey Chief is everyone ready?" Flynn asked. Toph shook her head and motioned for them to come in. Her officers got to work quickly securing any area that could be entered. Flynn, Zuko and Toph however moved into the kitchen where Aang, Katara and Sokka were conversing.

"Maybe I should take the kids to the South Pole until this is cleared up. Dad has been nagging at me to let Bumi and Kya visit more often." Katara suggested. Toph tilted her head to the side and scratched the back of her neck as she thought out that suggestion.

"That would be the most logical option but it's also the most predictable. The second you or your children aren't seen in public and Appa is seen flying south our assassins will put two and two together. Also because of those jurisdiction laws the council put on the police force I can't protect you in the South Pole. Even if I could the police force would be stretched out to thinly." Toph said methodically. The room was silent as the adults thought about a solution to keep the kids safe. It was Zuko who broke the eerie silence by clearing his throat.

"I know I shouldn't suggest this but what about if we take the kids to Kyoshi Island its home to some of the finest guardswomen in the world. I have no doubts they'd be safe there and it would give Toph a little extra manpower to conduct this investigation properly." Zuko suggested. Immediately all eyes were on Sokka. He bit down on his lip to keep himself from saying no as he thought about the safety of his family. Before he could answer Toph let out a frustrated huff.

"There is absolutely no need to call in other bodyguards or send anyone anywhere. I am confident my mental benders and I can keep this situation under control. To be completely honest I'm a little offended that we're even discussing this." Toph snapped. Katara was about to tell Toph that this discussion was in no ways a reflection on her competence as Chief of Police but Zuko spoke first.

"I am in no way questioning your ability to keep us safe however as you pointed out there are children involved…" Before Zuko could finish Sokka intervened.

"That's enough you two! This is getting us nowhere!" He snapped. The Firelord and the Chief of police shot each other one last glare before turning to face the others. Sokka shook his head angrily at the pair for their juvenile behavior.

"Sokka is right we don't even know how bad the situation is yet. Unless the situation escalates to the point where she can't handle it alone I don't think we need to involve anyone else." Aang said. While his tone was completely neutral it was clear that was to be the end of the discussion.

…

Toph had spent the next three days hunting the senders of the death threats down. While she managed to uncover several undercover Azula Sympathizer organizations. When each were interrogated no one admitted to sending those letters or having any knowledge of threats against any of her friends. Using her abilities Toph could see, despite her frustrations, all were telling the truth. She stayed up long hours with Commander Flynn hunting down any whisper of a lead. She didn't dare attempt to visit the safe house where her friends were staying, Toph told herself and anyone who asked it was because she didn't want to compromise their position but in actual fact she didn't want to face Sokka after that incident in Aang's office.

Finally when he couldn't ignore the dark circles under her eyes anymore Commander Flynn sent his boss to the couch in her office to nod off for a few minutes. However as Toph passed the breakroom the smell of sea food hit her nose causing her to bolt for the nearest bathroom.

"Here Chief this will settle your stomach a little bit. Its ginger root tea, my ex-wife drank this stuff by the bucket load when she was pregnant with my son." Commander Flynn said. Toph recalled Katara drinking the same thing whenever she had morning sickness so she assumed it was safe to drink. She took the mug with a nod of thanks and lifted it up to her lips. Toph paused to inhale the aroma before taking a curious sip.

"Ahh this is really good. I didn't know you were married." Toph muttered. She got up from the couch only to have a pair of hands stop her halfway.

"Give yourself a bit of a break Chief. Not sleeping for three nights in a row is probably bad for the child. My ex-wife and I divorced long before you ever came to work for the police department. Changing the subject though do you mind if I ask you a very personal question?" Flynn muttered. Toph groaned and put and arm over her eyes.

"If you feel you must." She sighed reluctantly.

"Do you honestly think this is the best way to capture the culprits? I mean the streets of Republic City have never been this crime free in a long time but don't you think we're driving our assassins to wait until we're so worn out it will be child's play to kill our targets." Flynn asked bluntly. The young earth bender snorted as she adjusted the pillow underneath her.

"You have no boundaries do you Commander?" Toph retorted sarcastically.

"Absolutely none." He replied. Flynn barely had time to dodge the pillow that came flying for his face. Thinking she wasn't going to answer his question Flynn scrambled to find another topic of conversation but when Toph suddenly sat up he held his tongue.

"That's it!" Toph muttered. Before Flynn could think of ask Toph punched him in the shoulder. He grunted in pain and rubbed his shoulder glaring at his boss who closed and locked the door to her office. The pair conversed in hushed whispers for an hour and a half before Toph exited her offices.

"Alright back to the underground. Do you want to come with me or would you rather go relieve Captain Takahashi?" Toph prompted. Flynn mulled that thought over in his head as he absently continued to rub his shoulder.

"I'll go relieve Takahashi. The poor guy isn't used to being around kids. Is there anything you want me to do before I go?" Flynn prompted. Toph bent off her armor revealing just the tiniest hint of a baby bump before she shrugged on the black jacket. Shouldn't she be showing more at nine and a half weeks, he thought with concern.

"Nah if anything happens I'm going to be expanding my search to down town. If I don't find anything than I'll head east." Toph said. She chugged the rest of the tea Flynn had made for her before she walked out of her office.

"Chief for heaven's sake take someone with you!" Flynn called. Toph spun on her heel and flashed him her biggest smile.

"I'm going undercover and none of you stiffs can pull off the innocent bystander act." She said. Flynn rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he watched her leave.

…

Flynn whistled a merry little tune as he walked up the steps to his house ignoring the snickers he got from the officers lounging on his front porch. Due to the fact that large groups of officers could always be seen entering and leaving his house on a normal day it made Flynn's house the ideal safe house. Flynn barely opened the door before running into Takahashi.

"You look horrible." Flynn pointed out bluntly. The lower ranking officer rubbed his eyes before shaking his head.

"Beware the female minor. She appears to be all sweet and innocent but she's tricky." Takahashi warned under his breath. Flynn looked at the Captains serious expression and burst out laughing.

"For heaven's sake pull yourself together they're two kids for spirits sake. Anyway the Chief sent me over to relieve you." Flynn said. He didn't need to explain any further the second Flynn said the word relieve Takahashi was out the door.

"Oh Commander Flynn welcome home." Katara said kindly. Flynn smiled at the water bender as he took off his hat and coat.

"Thank you, I hope you all have settled in ok?" Flynn said. The master water bender beamed at the older man for all his hospitality.

"Oh yes you have a lovely home. Bumi and Kya are going crazy over all the toys in their rooms. Captain Takahashi has been running back and forth after the two of them all day. You didn't have to set those out for the kids." Katara said.

"Those toys were getting lonely anyway. My children have outgrown all their toys but I don't have the heart to throw them out." Flynn laughed. She motioned for the weary Commander to come into the kitchen where the heavenly smell of dinner awaited him.

"I hope we didn't ruin things for your wife and children?" Katara asked. She put a plate in front of him Flynn nodded at her in gratitude before digging in.

"Trust me you're not ruining anything for anyone. Other than myself no one else lives in this old shed." Flynn said lightly. The young water bender was about to offer her sympathies to the older commander when she heard an ear slitting crash and the loud angry voices of her children. Katara let out a loud weary sigh and began to run toward the sound while Flynn sent out a discreet vibration. Sensing there was no danger he turned back to his dinner.

When he finished Flynn began washing the dishes that were piled haphazardly in the sink. The sounds of plates being stacked neatly in the sink drew Sokka's attention. He wandered into the kitchen to see the Commander whistling as he worked.

"Alright Flynn what's going on we haven't seen or heard from Toph in three days." He demanded. Flynn let out a loud sigh and he stacked the last plate in the right side of the sink.

"I'm the wrong person to be..." Sokka cut him off.

"Don't give me that you spend the most time with her." He pointed out. Not wanting to be the go between with the oblivious couple Flynn decided it would be best to be as vague as possible. He picked up a dish rag and began drying the plates just so he would have something to do with his hands.

"She doesn't want to compromise your position. She knows better than anyone a single misstep and all the effort we've been putting forth to keep everyone safe goes down the drain." He said neutrally. Sokka groaned in frustration.

"Can't I go down to the station and help? I often helped Toph with her investigations before I left for the South Pole." Sokka pointed out. Flynn sighed and put down the dish rag.

"I'm aware. However Chief Beifong has a lot on her shoulders right now the biggest way you can help her is to just stay put. For all her rough and tough exterior Toph loves all of you with her entire heart." Flynn said reassuringly. The Councilman sighed in defeat and nodded reluctantly he acknowledged the Commanders advice.

"You know if you ever get tired of being a police officer you'd make a great Councilman." Sokka pointed out. Flynn snorted before he could retort the phone in his kitchen started to shriek obnoxiously. The Commander started to dry his soggy hands to go and answer it but Sokka beat him to the phone. With a huff of disapproval Flynn turned his back on Sokka and began to put away the plates he had finished cleaning. He paid no attention to the conversation the Councilman was having so Flynn didn't notice when he hung up.

"This is all your fault!" Sokka roared. The Commander nearly dropped the plate he was holding as he spun around toward the younger man. His bellow attracted his sister, brother in law and friend to Sokka's side like a moths to a flame.

"Just sit tight what a load of crap! She is gone because of you!" Sokka roared. Everyone in the room froze at that last statement. Katara felt tears well up in her eyes she shook her head in denial.

"She isn't…" Sokka cut his sister off.

"No she isn't dead the Captain that took the call demanded they give proof of life. Those bastards are keeping her alive but in exchange we have to release Azula from the mental institution." Sokka explained quickly. There was a unified sigh of relief from everyone.

"I'd better get down to the station than…" Sokka interrupted Flynn with an angry snarl. Katara tried to stop her brother from being so harsh but Aang silently stopped her with a shake of his head.

"Oh no you don't. I'm leading this investigation." He declared.

…

Toph let out a groggy moan and rubbed the back of her skull. She double checked that everything was functioning properly before she shakily stood up. Her senses were completely cut off due to the fact that she was in a wooden box. She took a deep breath and listened in an attempt to discern at least part of her surroundings.

The sound of fast rushing water could be heard bellow her. She assumed it was some sort of river, however she also heard drops of water hitting stone. An underground cave of some sort Toph assumed. She reached around her and felt the box was made out of wood which didn't particularly surprise her.

The young earth bender let out a small sneeze and instinctively covered her bare arms. Toph vaguely remembered her captors stripping her and checking her over for anything that could be used against them. They had torn everything off her with the exception of her breast bindings and underwear.

"The bastards even took my headband and pins." Toph muttered. She ran her hands through her stinging scalp as she recalled how violently they hand torn through her hair. She slammed her foot down on the ground double checking that the cause of her baby bump was still safe and sound. When she felt a tiny heartbeat Toph let out a sigh of relief.

"We're sympathizers with Azula not monsters. It wouldn't be honorable to harm a pregnant woman." A deep masculine voice called out. From the echo Toph couldn't exactly pinpoint where the owner of the voice was coming from she could only assume it was somewhere down below her.

"You must not have known Azula then. She could have killed ten thousand pregnant women if it meant getting her way." Toph snorted.

"That's a lie spun by you and your friends to besmirch her name so that he incapable brother could take the throne!" The man snapped. She sighed and sat down on the wooden floor as she let out another sneeze. She heard a reluctant sigh and the moving of earth before she felt someone toss a blanket at her.

"Why in spirits name are you keeping me alive. Your letters said you were going to kill all the usurpers." Toph asked. She wrapped the scratchy blanket around her shoulders. While it wasn't much but it kept the chills at bay.

"Our leader realized that if we had a hostage we'd be able to negotiate for our rightful Firelord's release." He said. Toph burst out laughing and shook her head.

"It won't work. All you managed to do was piss off four of the greatest people I know."


	3. Unnamed Kidnapping Part II

Toph pulled the thin blanket tighter around herself in an attempt to cover her shivering shoulders. She lifted her head when she suddenly heard movement near the vicinity of her cell. Sensing her anxiety the tiny heartbeat Toph was trying so desperately to protect began to speed up. In an attempt to sooth her nerves and that of her unborn child Toph began to rub her abdomen soothingly.

"What's going on down there little Badgermole are you afraid? You have no reason to be I'm right here and I promise I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Toph whispered. She heard the all too familiar sounds of earth shifting and the sound of deep breathing she figured that someone was standing a relatively safe distance away from her cell.

"I didn't think you were the type to talk to an unborn child."

She turned her head toward the direction of the voice. Toph could tell that the voice wasn't the same one that had greeted her on her first night in her cell. Nor was it any that ambushed her in the alleyway. This voice oozed with authority and cruelty making the hairs on the back of Toph's neck stand on end. She had no doubts that the person standing in front of her was the mastermind of this operation. However there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head she knew this man but for all her effort she just couldn't place his voice.

"It makes for better conversation or rather better than anything you or your cliché minions can dish out. So you're the fearless leader your lackeys have been droning on about. For some reason I imagined you to be more intimidating." She yawned. Toph heard a deep chuckle making her clench her fists angrily. She recognized this voice but she couldn't pin it down exactly.

"Guilty as charged. Ryun former general of the Fire Nation." He said proudly. Toph's eyes widened as she recalled the name. He was one of the worst generals that worked for Ozai. When the earth kingdom fell the general had allowed his soldiers to pillage any of the earth kingdom villages his army can across they laid waste to everything in their path. The aftermath was so bad that to this day the Earth Kingdom was still recovering from all the damage he had caused. That was only one of his offenses he was a well-known pervert, and arsonist. Toph had heard of many prostitutes that he had burned alive simply for the pleasure of hearing them scream and even that was simply the tip of the iceberg.

"How did you break out of prison?" Toph demanded. She recalled sitting through his trail it wasn't very long either the evidence against him was overwhelming. With each word that was said and each witness that was called the entire room was filled with disgust. Once his sentence was called Toph had to help the guards subdue him as the general attempted to escape.

"Isn't that the question of the day? Although I must confess for a little crave troll you certainly have blossomed into womanhood. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you." Ryun said. Toph felt bile raise in her throat at the way he spoke to her so oily and condescending it made her want to ram her fist into his face over and over again until he stopped twitching.

"What do you want from me?" She snapped.

"You wound me in my country we exchange simple pleasantries before attacking our hosts with questions. Very well since you're behind bars I see no reason not to tell you." Ryun said.

"Just get on with it already."

"You still don't appreciate charm, why am I not surprised. To be frank I don't want anything from you. At first I was simply content to kill all of you and be done with you forever. However as my men brought you back and reported your condition a thought occurred to me. Whatever events happened in the past who is that shapes the future? That answer is simple enough even for you to figure out, our children. Now instead of torturing you for information, what I want is that thing growing inside your belly as well as the brats of your little group. The offspring of such powerful benders will make fine additions to the Fire Nation's army. After your little group is dispatched it will be all too easy to conquer the world with our rightful Firelord on the throne and the children of our enemies paving the way." He said. With each word he spoke Toph's temper rose.

"A child is not a weapon!" She roared. Her reaction caused Ryun to laugh manically. Toph raised her fists and tried to beat down the wooden bars that kept her from eliminating the mad man across from her.

"Think of it as payback for the life of my sons. Don't bother that wooden cell if made of wood hard enough to replace stone you won't be getting out of there so easily. Even if you did you would have no where to go. You're approximately sixty feet in the air with an underground reservoir directly beneath you. Sleep well." Ryun chuckled. Toph didn't stop slamming her fists against the bars until she made a bloody mess of her fists.

"You won't get away with this. The others are coming for me! I swear you'll answer for everything Ryun!" Toph bellowed. If he heard her threat Ryun gave no verbal answer. With one last attempt to slam her fists through the wood Toph sank down to her knees trying fiercely not to erupt into sobs.

…

Sokka glared at the map at Republic city that hung up on the wall of Toph's office, silently willing it to give him some sort of answer to his friend's whereabouts. He highlighted the routes that Toph had been inspecting that day, and he had managed to narrow down a vague location of where she could have been abducted. Flynn went down to investigate but so far the only thing that had turned up was small pieces of Toph's coat.

His concentration was broken when he heard two solid knocks on the door to Toph's office. Sokka was about to tell whoever it was on the other side to go away when Zuko opened the door and stepped inside.

"Katara wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready." He said.

"I'm not hungry." Sokka said flatly. Zuko looked at his friend with concern for the past two days Sokka had uncharacteristically refused to consume a single morsel of food. Instead he unconsciously messed with the torn piece of Toph's coat in one hand as he barked orders to every single officer in the Police station. The Firelord opened his mouth to chide his friend about minding his health but Sokka spoke first.

"It was cold last night." He muttered. Zuko furrowed his eyebrows not quite sure what to make of that. After a small beat the Firelord nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

"It seemed alright to me." Zuko responded amicably. He instantly felt like the biggest jerk in the world when Sokka started shaking his head. The Southern Water Tribesmen placed his hand over the spot where they had found small traces of Toph's coat. He reluctantly recalled how happy she had been when he had gifted it to her as a belated birthday present. Sokka closed his eyes in an attempt to fend off his emotions and memories.

"It was cold I could feel it through my clothes. How many times have I nagged that stubborn girl to bundle up but she never listened. She always insisted that stupid coat was enough to keep her warm." Sokka snapped. He withdrew his hand only to slam his fist back into the wall repeatedly. When his shoulders started shaking Zuko moved to put a comforting hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"It's ok Sokka. Toph is alive and she knows that we're coming for her." Zuko said reassuringly. Tears began running down his cheeks making Sokka press his forehead against the wall where the map hung.

"Does she? I couldn't save Yue at the North Pole. I couldn't get Azula to tell me where Suki was on the day of Black Sun. The only reason I managed to save her was because we went on a mission to break my father out of Jail. Hell, I couldn't even save Toph during Sozin's comet! If it hadn't been for Suki we both would have fallen to our deaths. Those three are the poster girls for how useless I am." Sokka snapped. He started slamming his fists against the wall again but this time Zuko pulled him away before Sokka could hurt himself. The Firelord silently wished that Katara was here, she would know exactly what to say to make him feel better.

"I know for a fact that Toph doesn't see it that way. If she did do you honestly think she would have let you help her with her work? Or help out when she opened her metal bending academy? She didn't even kick up a fuss when the idea was proposed for you to go and live with her. Also when you decided to stay at the South Pole she cried inconsolably once she thought we were all asleep. Do you honestly think that is the behavior of someone who thinks you're useless?" Zuko demanded. Sokka didn't acknowledge his friends words he didn't even turn to look at Zuko instead he kept staring at the wall. After a few moments of silence he stepped back and ogled the map in amazement.

"I can't believe it, it all makes sense now! Spirits above I'm a moron." He muttered. Zuko smiled in surprise and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"You weren't a moron you just needed to look at things from a different perspective. To be honest I didn't think that would work." Zuko murmured. Sokka turned toward his friend and shook his head.

"No what you were saying wasn't helping. We've been looking for Toph the wrong way. The Azula Sympathizers are tricky they've always managed to cover their tracks well enough so that we couldn't find them. However Toph is a far cry from subtle. Meaning they can't just keep her in any random cage or else she would be able to break free. If kidnapping her was a spur of the moment decision they would have to move quickly which creates a very conspicuous factor to this particular case. Now given the time frame they wouldn't have had time to build a wooden cage so they would have needed to buy one. The only places they could have gotten something like is here in at the shipwrights store or over there at the carpenters. That's our lead I guarantee it! I can't believe I didn't notice that before I'm such an idiot!" Sokka snapped. He didn't wait for Zuko to say anything Sokka ran over to where he had thrown his coat and began to shrug it on. Apparently hearing the loud commotion Aang and Katara rushed in.

"What in the world is going on here?" Aang asked. Zuko quickly explained while Sokka began to arm himself.

"Alright so what's the plan idea guy?" Katara asked. Sokka looked at his little sister and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You and Zuko are staying here to hold down the fort while Aang and I go check this out. Before you start protesting this isn't biased. Bumi and Kya still need protection and if we all go I'm afraid those bastards will try something. I picked Aang because he can bend all the elements and only the great spirits know what we're going to encounter." Sokka explained. Katara reluctantly conceded to the fact that her brother had a point and instinctively threw her arms around him.

"Be safe and bring her home." Katara whispered. She watched as her brother and Husband left the police station trying desperately not to show that she was in the middle of a contraction.

…

"What is wrong with you? You almost gave that poor man a heart attack!" Aang snapped. The air bender was a bright tomato red out of anger or embarrassment Sokka couldn't quite tell. He ignored the ranting of his brother in law and focused on flagging down an ostrich horse carriage.

"Look I suspected the man was hiding something so I decided to go look around. How was I supposed to know that his lover was hiding in the backroom? If you're going to be this squeamish then go home I'll find her on my own." Sokka snapped. Aang made a face and trudged after his brother in law like a child being dragged to the dentist.

"Hey she is my friend too and I don't appreciate this attitude of yours." Aang snapped.

"Are you getting in or am I going alone?" Sokka prompted. He didn't have to ask a second time Aang brushed past Sokka with a dramatic huff. Sokka gave the driver an address that was about a block away from their actual destination before he swung himself up into the carriage. Once his brother in law was situated Aang rapped on the carriage ceiling three times signaling the driver to move on.

"When we approach this guy I want to do the talking." Aang snapped. Sokka was blatantly ignoring him by looking out the window. After several attempts to engage him in conversation Aang gave up.

Sokka wasn't much for praying. After his mother passed away Sokka figured the great Spirits were deaf to his prayers. His grandmother never tried to force to pay homage to something he didn't believe in so Sokka forgot most of the prayers he had learned as a child. However while he face betrayed nothing but boredom internally Sokka was praying for Toph's safety to any deity that would listen. He didn't even notice the carriage was stopped until Aang put a hand on his shoulder. Sokka looked over to his longtime friend to see sympathy etched into every corner of his face.

"There is no need for faces like that. We are going to find her and she will be alright." Sokka said with a confidence he didn't feel. He didn't give Aang a chance to respond instead the Councilman swung out of the carriage and began to walk toward the carpenters shop. However as they approached Sokka made a sharp left into the alleyway just before they hit their destination.

"What are…" Aang was quickly shushed.

"We need to determine if this guy is just a bystander or if he is part of the organization. I don't want to tip him off either way." Sokka whispered. Aang nodded in understanding and followed Sokka's lead. When they got to the back of the shop they encountered a large stone wall in front of them. Trying not to make a sound Sokka motioned for Aang to air bend them up onto the wall. Once they were both situated he motioned for Aang to keep a look out for anyone suspicious while he went to look around.

With the grace of a cat Sokka found himself in what he could only assume was a courtyard. The shop was directly in front of him with some stairs on the side leading to what Sokka assumed was the owners living quarters. If he was an Azula sympathizer Sokka figured that the man wouldn't be foolish enough to keep anything in or around the shop where it could be found.

He silently climbed the steps up to the small wooden door. Sokka turned the knob and found that it was locked. With a long sigh He took out his hunting knife and began to pick the lock. It took him three tries before he managed to get the door open. When he did however Sokka stood there and immediately wished he hadn't.

All over the tiny apartment were slashed up pictures of Aang, Zuko and Toph. Frankly Sokka wasn't two surprised as the trio was the most active politically speaking. Katara rarely stepped into the political affairs of Republic City anymore and Sokka had only just returned from a long absence so it was natural that many would despise those three. Sokka tore himself from his thoughts and began searching through the mountains of papers placed haphazardly on the desk across from him.

When he didn't find anything of consequence Sokka moved on to the filing cabinet. He ruffled through the files searching for any leads. He opened the first cabinet and found files on the dead soldiers. Much to his amusement Sokka found Private Wang Fire written neatly on one file and was tempted to take it. However thinking better of it he closed the first cabinet and opened the second one.

He inspected the files and found that these were of soldiers who were still living. Upon further inspection he noticed that next to each name there was either a red dot or a black x. After reading through two random ones Sokka figured out that the red dots were those who were still loyal to Azula and the files marked with the x were those loyal to Zuko. Sokka was horrified to see that there were many files with red dots on them. He closed that cabinet and opened the last one with a weary sigh.

This particular cabinet had seven fat files in them. Zuko, Aang, Toph, Katara, Suki, Sokka and his father all had their names written on each one. He pulled out Suki's first and began to skim over it. It was a detailed background check of the Kyoshi Warrior it contained even recent history. Curiously Sokka read though that part of the report and secretly began to smile to himself. If this report was accurate Suki appeared to be fighting off pirates that raided earth kingdom supply ships. The report also shows she married a commander in the earth kingdom army and had recently given birth to a little girl. He began stuffing the files into his sack before he opened Toph's file to see if it contained any sign of her whereabouts. Sokka got distracted by the long list of criminals she had effectively put behind bars. He let out a low whistle and continued reading. The next page contained a list of her strengths and weaknesses he was surprised to find his name listed under weaknesses but he didn't stop to ponder it for too long. He was nearing the end of the reports when he came across a map pinned to one page of the report. He flipped it open and saw a single spot marked with an x. Sokka was vaguely familiar with that place it was a string of caves that were known to house many platypus bears. There was also an underground river in the caves that would be a perfect place to keep a suspended wooden cage. The wood would cut off Toph's sense of hearing while the river would effectively hamper her hearing. He quickly tucked the map into his shirt while he stuffed the file into his bag and snuck out of the house like a thief in the night.

…

Something was going on the men assigned to watch her had been called away, Toph assumed it was due to the loud crashing that was echoing throughout the cave. She walked around unsteadily in the wooden cell as she looked for a flaw or something she could use to break out of her box while her enemies were distracted.

"Can you believe this little Badgermole I can break a bolder with my head but when it comes to wood I'm lost. Who would have thought your mother was such a lily livered turtle duck." She muttered. The little heartbeat inside of her beat calm and steady giving Toph some since of comfort. Her fingers brushed up against something. Upon further probing she discovered that it was a crack in one of the boards. She debated using her hands to punch a hole through the ceiling. As she balled her right hand into a fist the searing pain that shot up Toph's arm made her decide against it. She stepped back a few steps before she jumped up and caught the bars of the ceiling.

She swung back in forth before she gathered up enough momentum to slam her feet into the wooden ceiling. Like she suspected the wood didn't give way so easily. However as she reached over with one arm to inspect the crack she found it was bigger. Toph smiled triumphantly before placing her hand back on the bar to distribute her weight a little more evenly.

"Hmm maybe this is gonna work out after all. Just be patient little Badgermole I'll get us out of this in a second." Toph muttered. She began to swing again gaining some more momentum before she slammed her feet up against the wood but the impact caused a stinging pain to run up from Toph's feet to her ankles. She took a few deep breaths before she repeated the process. It took her three more tries before she broke through. However when Toph dropped to the ground her feet couldn't support her and she crumpled down to the floor. She managed to cushion her fall with her hands instantly jamming them with more splinters.

"Come on Beifong you have to get out of this. It's your job and no one else is gonna do it but you." She snapped. Toph gave herself a few seconds to allow the pain to consume her. After those meager seconds were over she jumped up and began to climb out.

"Alright we're out…now what?" She muttered. Toph silently wished she had Sokka here as she paced, frantically searching for her next move. However Ryun's plot echoed in her head her fears and worries melted away to be replaced by disgust and anger. As she came to the edge of the cage her hand brushed against one of the ropes used to keep the cage suspended in the air. She tugged on it hard testing to see if it could support her weight before she hooked herself around the rope and began to climb.

Toph was horrified with each inch she slid up on the rope. She couldn't see a thing and with the rumbling of the underground reservoir beneath her and the loud roaring of the fray above her, Toph could barely hear anything. Out of desperation Toph decided to talk her way to safety.

"Alright I'm sixty feet in the air no sight. I can barely hear anything and I'm attempting to climb a rope. Great idea Beifong!" Toph snapped sarcastically. Completely aware of the impossibility of her situation she pressed on, blindly sliding her hand up the rope before she hulled herself up.

When she finally reached the stone wall Toph quickly bent a ledge for her to stand on. She let out a relieved sigh when her sight was restored. The tiny victory was short lived however the young earth bender sensed the signs of a struggle going on nearby. Two pairs of footsteps were immediately recognizable to her. From what she could tell Aang and Sokka were surrounded. Toph didn't waste any time she pushed the stone out of her way and sprinted toward the fight.

Aang and Sokka stood back to back attempting to determine if Toph was somewhere nearby. They didn't want to give their opponents the opportunity to use her as some sort of hostage. Aang's intention was to sneak around and see if they could somehow find Toph, Sokka on the other hand wanted to abduct one of the guards standing nearby and interrogate him for information. The argument escalated into a shouting match that drew the enemy's attention pretty soon they were completely surrounded by approximately 40 men.

"You just had to charge in here like a mad man didn't you?" Aang hissed angrily. Sokka resisted the urge to take his eyes off his opponent to roll his eyes.

"How is this my fault you were just as loud as I was." He pointed out. Before the two could continue their bickering a large wave of earth came flying at them. However instead of knocking Aang and Sokka over the wave only hit those around them. They turned toward the source to see Toph standing there arms out earth bending as though her life depended on it. Aang and Sokka stood there dumb founded as Toph quickly knocked their assailants unconscious. She jogged up to her friends with a weary shake of her head.

"What are you two meatheads doing here? If this is a rescue I must say it's probably one of your worst." Toph snapped. The two boys frowned at the lack of gratefulness their friend was displaying. Pushing his hurt feelings aside Sokka took off his shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. Automatically Toph pushed her hands through the sleeves before she began rolling the extra fabric up to her wrists.

"What happened to you?" Sokka demanded. Aang's eyes were immediately drawn to the bloody torn up mess that was Toph's hands. Sokka gently took her left hand in both of his and began to inspect the damage. However she jerked her hand away and hid both of them behind her back.

"This is no time to be worrying about me. We have bigger problems." Toph snapped. Before either boy could question her, Toph began to explain everything she had learned from Ryun.

"We need to get you to safety first then we'll go and get…" Toph cut off Aang with a furious shake of her head.

"There is no time. The second he realizes what's happening Ryun will disappear or worse he could accelerate his plans and kidnap Kya and Bumi despite the fact that they are under police protection. If you won't help me then I'll do it on my own but I swear I'm not going back home until that sick bastard is behind bars." Toph said adamantly. Aang groaned and tilted his head back in frustration.

"Why must you always so stubborn! Sokka why are you just standing there talk some sense into her!" Aang ordered. Sokka felt all their eyes on him waiting for him to be the tie breaker. He furrowed his eyebrows and mulled over what had been said. His first instinct was to try and force Toph to go back to the station where she would be safe. However she had a very good point this was their only opportunity to catch Ryun. If they didn't the results could be catastrophic from what Toph described it was anyone's guess as to what his next plan could be. With a reluctant sigh Sokka turned toward the younger woman and pointed to her.

"You stay close to us. Am I clear?" Sokka said. Toph placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Who is Chief of Police here you or me?" She demanded.

Sokka could have handled her sassy nature on a normal day that was just how she was, and he understood that. However due to the fact that he had just spent the last two days searching for her he was tired, hungry and in no mood to deal with her usual sass.

"Don't test me right now Toph or I swear I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you back to the station by force." Sokka said threateningly. Toph raised her eyebrows in surprise it had been many years since he even dared to speak to her like that. She opened her mouth to retort but whatever reply she had come up with was quickly covered by Aang's hand.

"Alright that is enough. If we're doing this we have to do it now, so let's go."


	4. Sokka's Secret Life of Dreams

It was dark and cold where ever Sokka had been taken to. He glanced around him however all he could really see was icy tundra. He wasn't afraid though the tundra was familiar to him. He could tell that he was definitely somewhere in the South Pole. He looked up at the stars in an attempt to navigate his way back however the sky was completely empty except for the moon.

"Great how am I supposed to find my way back now?" He muttered with a sigh. Sokka glanced around in a desperate attempt to locate some sort of landmark or sign of smoke, anything to lead him back home. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of light. Sokka spun around sword at the ready to face whatever threat came towards him.

Instead he saw a large golden flower spring up from the snow. Like a ripple in the water suddenly the golden flower transformed the snow covered ground into a large mass of trees and greenery however it ended a few feet away from him. From the trees emerged a familiar figure.

"Gran-Gran, what's going on? Where are we?" He demanded to know. The elderly woman walked up to him until there was about a foot between them. Sokka started forward to embrace his grandmother but she stopped him.

"Don't if you cross over to where I am you'll never be allowed to go back." She said. Sokka huffed stubbornly but none the less did what his grandmother asked out of respect.

"Go back where?" He prompted. His grandmother sighed sadly and shook her head disapprovingly. Her grandson raised his eyebrows at the look his grandmother was giving him.

"Sokka how much do you remember?" She asked. He sighed and thought back to the last thing he could remember. However it felt like something was blocking him from recalling anything.

"I went to Republic City to help the Tribe increase trade under Dad's orders. After that everything is blank." He admitted. Something in the back of his head was screaming at him telling him that what he remembered wasn't everything. He attempted to recall more but the only thing that came to mind was a gigantic feeling of alarm and a massive headache.

"My little warrior it's time for you to remember and go home. Think of your sister, she needs you and so does your brother in law. Think of your friends like that Fire Bending boy and that young earth bender who is currently praying desperately for you to come home. You can't give up on them now." Gran-Gran ordered. Sokka's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What do you mean? Did something happen to me? Am I dead?" He asked.

"I can't tell you. You have to remember on your own. Listen Sokka no matter what you happens no matter what you see or hear just keep going straight. Follow the moon she will show you the way back. I have to go now I've been here too long." She said. It took real restraint for Sokka not to run forward and give Gran-Gran one last hug.

"Please don't go Gran-Gran we all miss you so much." Sokka admitted. She smiled as she began to fade away.

"My little warrior I miss you too but I'll always be with you." She whispered. Sokka watched with a heavy heart as she faded from sight. He stood there grieving for a few moments before he turned around and began walking straight like his grandmother told him.

As though pounded over the head with a sack of bricks he recalled standing completely still as Toph slammed her foot down in an attempt to discern Ryun's whereabouts. She was wrapped in nothing but the shirt that came right off his back. He was about to ask if she saw anything her face scrunched up in frustration.

"I can't pick him out. There are two bunkers made completely out of wood it's too difficult to pick out whose vibrations are Ryun's and which ones are his stooges." Toph muttered angrily. He placed his hands on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her but she brushed him away and walked towards Aang. For once he was glad his friend was blind so that she couldn't see the hurt expression on his face.

"What exactly did you see Toph?" Aang asked. She pushed her long hair out of her face and began to pace back and forth trying to find the right words. Sokka watched feeling guilt ridden that he couldn't take her away from this cold place and see to those bleeding cuts on her arms and legs.

"Down this path right here there is a secret stairway that forks off into four separate pathways. The two in the center are dead ends the other two on the ends lead to wooden bunkers. I can sense that there are vibrations in each bunker but I just can't sort them out there just too fuzzy." Toph sighed. Aang nodded methodically and scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of a solution. Suddenly he pulled out a coin and placed it in her hand.

"Call it." He ordered. She put the coin back in his hand with a long sigh.

"Tails." She said dismissively. Aang flicked it high in the air caught it midair and flipped it over the top of his hand. When he removed his hand the top side of the coin was staring back at them.

"Alright Sokka and I will take the right. Toph you take the left. Do you think you can handle it on your own?" Aang asked. She gave him a look that said 'are you stupid or something' making Sokka roll his eyes.

"Don't be silly. I can handle them on my own. Besides I want revenge on those bastards for shoving me in cage like some sort of animal." Toph said darkly. Aang opened his mouth to give Toph a stern lecture on the virtues of forgiveness and the dishonor of revenge however Sokka interrupted him.

"You sure that's a good idea? You'll be fighting on wood and your senses will be cut off and they could recapture you and use you has a hostage." Sokka warned. Aang glanced back at Toph who made a face.

"I can handle myself I think Sokka should go with you. After all you're both regarded as the best fighting duo in the earth kingdom." Aang muttered. Toph didn't acknowledge that statement. Instead she simply started walking down the path that she had indicated lead to the bunkers. The boys ran after her double checking that no one was following them. The trio were silent until they reached the fork in the road that Toph mentioned. She turned to face them with a reluctant sigh.

"You know how to signal me if you get into trouble right?" Toph asked.

"Yea I remember. Be careful." He said. Toph punched her former student in the shoulder making him yelp in pain and begin to rub his shoulder.

"You too I'll never forgive you if you die." Toph said. Sokka them interact hopping from one foot to the other he wanted this mission to be over with as quickly as possible. Finally the two of them separated and Toph dragged him down the path to the left. As they walked down Toph sneezed three times she had to stop herself from wiping her nose on Sokka's sleeve before she ruined the shirt anymore. Her friend noticed and rolled his eyes.

"Just go ahead and wipe your nose the shirt is already ruined." He said. Toph sighed and wiped her nose lightly.

"I'll replace your shirt." She said.

"Forget about it." He said. Toph sneezed again making Sokka pull them to a halt and place his hand over her forehead. Sure enough as he suspected her body temperature was warmer than normal.

"You've got a bit of a fever." He commented. Toph groaned in frustration and batted his hand away.

"Ignore it we have to finish what we set out to do." She said.

"Honestly remind me later to give you a stern lecture on how it's not just you." Sokka murmured. They came to a dead end and Sokka was beginning to doubt Toph's vision until she earth bent the wall down revealing a hidden stairway.

"I know it's not just me but it's hard to keep warm when they strip you down and give you nothing but a thin blanket with holes all over it." She snapped. Sokka didn't say anything as he struggled to keep his temper under control. They didn't say much after that. Toph kept tapping her toes and sending out vibrations toward the bunker. She could feel the five men rushing around to leave she recognized a few people who originally captured her. The closer she got the more certain she was that Ryun was there. She was half tempted to manipulate Sokka into joining Aang instead but she didn't want the two hour lecture that would come after. She pulled them to a halt when they got within five feet of the bunker doors.

"Get down!" She commanded. She pushed Sokka down and raised a wall of earth as a shield. Suddenly the doors exploded and three men ran out. Toph managed to encase them in earth before they got too far. She ran into the bunker with Sokka at her heels. He blocked the arrows that came for them with his club. In the shadows sat a non-bender that Toph figured she could leave to Sokka. In front of her stood the old general.

Sokka continued walking down the snowy tundra as the memories plagued him like a swarm of bees. He was wearing his summer clothes and he was still warm despite the snow hitting his arms, neck and face. The images that passed him were mostly of the people he lost. His mom, grandmother, Yue, and Suki all beckoning for him to stray from the path he was taking. The first few times it was easy to avoid walking away from his unknown destination. However as he walked along whatever was trying to keep him here was getting more desperate. He began to hear the voices of his loved ones in pain calling for him desperately. At some point he had to stand there with his hands over his ears as Toph's screams filled his ears. It tore him back into another memory.

Ryun launched five quick five balls toward Toph. She used that to her advantage drawing Ryun's attention away from the fight between Sokka and the other man. He didn't bother to glance back to make sure his friend was alright Sokka was confident she could hold her own even with a cold. He used his club to knock away the arrows that came for him and quickly advanced. As Sokka got closer he broke the bow in half with his machete. He quickly put his weapons back and blocked the weak punch his opponent threw at him. Sokka rammed his fist forward with all his might straight into his attacker's nose. The man reared back clutching his nose in pain. Sokka used that to his advantage he rammed his club down on the archer's head effectively knocking him out. Once he finished tying up the archer he spun around to see how Toph was holding up.

He saw her slam her foot down causing a massive wave of earth to run after Ryun. She managed to disorient him for a moment but he regained his balance so quickly she couldn't effectively restrain him. She tried to contain him in giant slab of earth like she had done for the men outside however Ryun jumped up into the air just before she could encase him. She barely had time to move out of the way before a massive column of flame came crashing down where she stood. Toph rolled away and sprang up to her feet and launched two boulders at him. The older General managed to dodge the first one but the second crashed right into his abdomen. Ryun howled in pain and clutched his stomach. He cursed at her as Toph encased his feet and hands in makeshift handcuffs made out of stone.

"It's over Ryun you're under arrest." Toph snapped. He seemed to gather his composure as she said that. He observed his surroundings before breaking out into an oily grin. While Toph couldn't see his expression she felt like something was off. Sokka could see her tense up and began to walk towards them to back her up in case Ryun tried something.

"Oh little cave troll you still have so much to learn. I may be gone but there will always be someone else to take my place. Until you're asleep in your grave the villains of this world will haunt you giving you no peace for the rest of your life." He said. Ryun used his fire bending to aid him in breaking his restraints. Instead of attacking her, at the last second Ryun shifted his body and launched lightening directly towards Sokka. Toph's scream could be heard throughout the bunker as she tried to run towards Sokka to knock him out of the way. Before she could take a few steps Ryun knocked her out with the hilt of the sword he was wearing. After that everything went black.

Sokka stood looking out at the ocean that beat harshly against the ice he was currently standing on. His eyes widened as the last memory sank in. Toph was in danger he needed to get back to her immediately. He searched around him for a boat but could find none. Muttering several curses under his breath he began to take off his shirt, boots and weapons before diving into the sea. The second he hit the water the waves became harsher trying to rip him off course but he was a proficient swimmer and managed to navigate his way through the waves for a time.

Eventually his legs began to cramp and his arms grew heavy. It felt like he was sifting through sand with each stroke he took. The more tired he grew the more the waves rammed against him until they drove him completely under water. Sokka let himself drift further and further down into the water despite the horrible burning of his lungs.

"What am I fighting so hard for." he thought miserably. Sokka looked up to the blurry sky and thought of his best friend. All the times he and Toph got into all sorts of mischief and the few serious talks they had always under that same open sky. The times she saved his life and the times he had to save her. All of those memories came flooding back into his head and he realized how much the petite earth bender gave him strength even when she wasn't there with him. Sokka forced his tired limbs to start swimming toward the surface. Just as he took his first breath the world around him faded away into nothingness and he began to fall.

His eyes fluttered open Sokka felt daylight on his face and warm linen wrapped around him. For a few moments he simply stared at the ceiling trying to process what had just happened. Once everything began to sink in Sokka began to panic. He sat up and doubled over in pain waking up the person sleeping next to his bedside. A pair of pale hands helped him move back into a more comfortable position. Sokka looked up into a pair of large green eyes that would never stare back at him.

"What happened? No wait, how is this possible? I saw Ryun knock you out. Where is Aang? Where is Ryun?" He asked. Sokka was about to continue with his flood of questions but Toph gently covered his mouth with her hand.

"Grief it was easier to deal with you when you were asleep. Relax you're safe, I'm safe, so is Aang and everyone else for that matter." She murmured. Sokka was about to slap her hand away and get out of bed. Before he could though Toph slowly moved her hand from his mouth to place it gently on his cheek. He began to notice there were dark circles under her eyes and that her hair was messier than usual. Sokka began to wonder how long Toph had been by his side.

"How long have I been asleep?" He asked. She took her hand away from his face only to have Sokka lace his fingers through hers. With a sigh she made a face as she thought back.

"I haven't really been keeping track of time all that well, but I'd say about four days. Izu isn't as good at healing lightening wounds as Katara is. You've become an Uncle again to the loudest baby boy I've ever heard. Aang is so proud he is sure that baby Tenzin is an air bender. That's why we all figured it would be best if I took you to my apartment. A crying baby is bad enough apparently a crying air bender baby is worse." Toph said. Sokka pulled the covers back and pulled Toph in next to him. Her face was cold to the touch so he put the covers up higher and pushed her a bit closer to him. Thankfully all she did was yawn and didn't bother fighting him.

"The winter is beginning to settle in. Yesterday I could have sworn I smelled a touch of snow in the air." She murmured.

"Stop changing the subject. What happened to Ryun? How are you even here? I'm positive that he struck you over the head with the hilt of his sword." Sokka demanded to know. Toph sighed and pointed to her eyes.

"Am I doing this right? I'm trying to roll my eyes at you." She said.

"You two look very cozy."

Sokka and Toph jumped at the sound of Zuko's voice. Toph put her hand on the wall to double check that he was the only one who entered her apartment without permission. She sighed in relief when she sensed no other vibrations but his. She began to push the covers back but Zuko stopped her.

"Don't get up on my account." He said. Toph heard the scraping of chair legs against the floor and assumed he took the chair Toph had been occupying previously.

"What are you doing here Sparky?" She murmured. Zuko sighed at the nickname Toph had given him long ago. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts before he looked at the pair sadly.

"Always to the point. Unfortunately I have bad news. The Council had just finished going over your reports as well as Commander Flynn's and they have decided to hold an inquiry against you both." Zuko said bluntly. Sokka looked outraged and confused at the very mention of an inquiry. Toph on the other hand appeared very calm.

"I figured this would happen. I would be suspicious too if I read a report like the ones Flynn and I submitted. If this goes to trial what do they intend to charge us with?" She asked. Zuko placed a hand over hers in a reassuring gesture. While she couldn't see his face Toph could feel the hope radiating off him but it offered her no comfort.

"It won't come to that Toph. I went ahead and got you and Flynn the best lawyer in Republic City." He muttered. Toph frowned at him and pulled her hand away to cross her arms angrily.

"Just tell me what the charges will be. Zuko, I have to know don't force me to go through this ordeal completely blind." She said firmly. With a loud sigh of exhaustion Zuko took his hand away and hardened his gaze.

"They intend to charge Flynn with negligence and failure to comply with the council's orders. For you the Council intends to be much harsher because you are the Chief of Police and must be made an example of. The charges against you will be negligence, man slaughter and assault of an unarmed man." He said quietly. Sokka's mouth fell open in surprise he attempted to piece together what happened to Ryun based off of what Zuko was telling them.

"I thought as much. Even as Flynn read the reports back to me I suspected that something along these lines would happen." She admitted. Toph sat back against the head board and let her head rest against the stone. Sokka and Zuko looked at her with concern written all over their faces. She closed her eyes and let her mind tap into the vibrations all around them. Zuko motioned for Sokka to give her a moment before he began interrogating the young earth bender. However Toph's eyes snapped open and she jumped out of her bed like a fire had been lit from under her.

"Who contacted my parents?" She demanded angrily.

"I swear it was Aang!" Zuko roared. He threw his hands up in defense before she could unleash her anger on him. However Toph ignored him and began furiously throwing various items that were thrown carelessly around the floor into her closet. She turned toward Zuko and glared at him.

"Don't just sit there help me! Spirit's above I swear I'm going to murder Aang the first chance I get! This is the last thing I need!" She roared. Zuko bit down on his lip hard to keep himself from laughing out loud. Toph looked like a mad man sprinting around attempting to make her apartment look spotless.

"What is the problem? You made your peace with your parents a long time ago didn't you?" Zuko said. She threw the last of her clothes in her closet and slammed the door.

"I haven't told them I'm pregnant yet you dunderhead! They are going to be pissed I don't need to add a messy apartment to their anger." She snapped. She moved to toward the kitchen and began to stuff plates and bowls in the cabinets regardless of whether or not they were dirty or clean. Zuko followed her and leaned up against the post of the wall. Once the kitchen was clear she moved to the living room and began stuffing blankets in random chests. Just as her parents knocked on the door Toph metal bent her armor on.

"Can you see the baby bump?" She asked frantically. Zuko noticed that around her abdomen where she usually kept her armor as tight as possible it was much looser. While anyone that was looking fairly closely and knew what to look for would probably be able to tell however to the casual observer Zuko doubted they would notice.

"No you'll be fine, but you'd better tell them before they leave." Zuko warned. Toph crossed her arms and shook her head. Mentally she was rehearsing what she would say and trying to picture

"Why should I?" She snapped. Zuko rolled his eyes before he ruffled her hair. She slapped his hand away making him chuckle.

"They're gonna be so pissed if they find out when the baby gets here. Your 32 years old Toph don't you think it's a little silly to be afraid of them?" Zuko said.

"I'm not afraid of my parents. I'm worried they'll try to take the baby away from me. I'm worried they'll call me an unfit mother before I've even had the chance to try." She admitted honestly. Zuko didn't have time to come up with a retort she opened the door for her parents and let them rush inside. Poppy Beifong began the dutiful process of fretting over her daughter while Lao Beifong began scolding her for not contacting them immediately when death threats were made against her.

"Mom, Dad I'm fine the reason I didn't contact you was because I didn't want you to worry." Toph said soothingly. She patted her sobbing mother on the back in an attempt to sooth her.

"Toph we are your parents it's our right to worry." Lao said.

"Dad, Mom you remember Firelord Zuko." Toph said evasively. Zuko smiled at the older couple and bowed respectfully however in the back of his head he made a mental note to have a firm talk with her about evading her parents like that.

"It's a pleasure to see you again Firelord." Lao said. Toph's parents bowed back respectfully. Zuko engaged them in pleasant conversation while Toph walked back to check on Sokka.

"Did you kill Ryun?" He asked. Toph slammed the door closed before looking at him in outrage.

"Of course not! Why would you say such a thing?" She demanded to know.

"Well you won't tell me anything. What else am I supposed to think?" He snapped. Toph tapped her toes against the stone floor to double check that Zuko was keeping her parents occupied.

"Ryun is dead but I didn't kill him. After you were hit I ran after that bastard and I managed to corner him at the overhang above the river. Before I could arrest him he jumped off the cliff. The assault of an unarmed man charge would probably be some behemoth who attempted to avenge Ryun's death I launched a bolder at his face and knocked him out before he even took two steps." She said quickly. Toph tensed as Zuko tapped his foot three times on the ground a silent signal for her that her parents were coming.

"Look we'll talk about this later. Go back to sleep I have to deal with my parents." She said quickly. Sokka opened her mouth to say something but she slid out of the door leaving him alone with his thoughts.


	5. A Break

Toph stood over a map of Republic City with Flynn and her seven Captains as they slowly mapped out the patrols for that week. The large office seemed cramped to all nine occupants who furiously fought for a space around a map of Republic City made of stone. After elbowing Flynn to the side twice Toph had them push the furniture back up against the walls creating more room. She placed a hand over the stone map that Flynn had made five minutes earlier she slammed her foot into the ground making a larger replica. She sat down on the ground with a triumphant smile. No one blinked an eye as they sat down on the floor and began the meeting.

"We need to increase police patrols around this area. The crime rate is raising higher than I've ever seen it." One of her captains said. He earth bent a marker onto the map so that Toph could sense the area that he was pointing to. She sighed not really surprised at the particular spot that was marked out on the map.

"It's always downtown. How bad has it gotten?" She asked. The Captain who spoke scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's bad Chief, we've already had five unprovoked attacks on our officers during this month alone. Thankfully none of our officers haven't sustained any permanent injuries but I'm concerned because the responding calls for aid have been over five minutes." He said. Toph's eyebrows furrowed angrily. Ever since she took over the police department forced her officers to respond to calls for aid in under five minutes. The fact that they've begun to slip irritated her.

"I want to talk to the responding officers after we're finished with this meeting. Increase the number of officers patrolling that area but do it discreetly. Too many officers patrolling the streets could cause mass panic among the civilians which I guarantee is the last thing we want." She muttered. Before anyone could bring up a new topic the door to the office flew open causing everyone to look up. Toph glared at the intruder.

"Councilman Kenai, Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko we are in the middle of a meeting if you could wait outside for a few more minutes I would appreciate it." She said. While she appeared to be calm all three men could hear the anger in her voice.

"Unfortunately Chief Beifong this cannot wait." Aang said. She blew her bangs away from her nose and shook her head angrily. Before she could tell them to buzz off Flynn put a hand over hers in a silent plea for her to keep calm.

"Men your dismissed. Go home to your families we'll pick this up tomorrow." Toph said. In an orderly fashion the Captains stood up and filed out according to rank. Flynn on the other hand didn't budge. Toph pulled her hand out of his grasp and turned her head in his general direction.

"That includes you as well Commander." She said formally. Flynn opened his mouth to protest but she raised her hand to stop him. Seeing the determined set of her jawline made him relent. As he walked out of the room Toph reminded him to close the door.

"You three better have an excellent reason for interrupting me like that in front of my subordinates." She snapped. Toph earth bent the map of the city back down into the ground before she stood up to confront her friends.

"We've got bad news." Aang said. The earth bender crossed her arms and braced herself for the news. Councilman Kenai took a paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked. She gave him her best 'are you stupid look' before waving her free hand in front of her face. The Councilman blushed sheepishly before motioning for someone else to talk.

"It's an anonymous complaint from within the Police Department. Conduct unbefitting a person of rank." Zuko said flatly. Aware of what this would mean Toph crushed the paper in her fist.

"As you know this is a serious accusation with the inquiry against you and Flynn we have no choice but to place you on paid leave until Internal Affairs clears you for duty." Councilman Kenai said. Toph placed a hand on her desk to steady her as the news sank in. Aang came up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her reaction was instantaneous she slapped his hand away and nodded.

"Who is going to be running the police department in my place?" She asked. Aang opened his mouth to try and reassure his former earth bending teacher that all was well but Kenai beat him to the punch.

"Logically Flynn would be the next in line to take command however since he is under investigation as well the rest of the council will never allow him to take the position. Therefore the Avatar will assume the position of Chief of Police until this is resolved." Councilman Kenai said. Toph snorted and shook her head.

"No offense Twinkle Toes but you are the least qualified person to become even a temporary Chief of Police. Give it to Flynn I will vouch for him or if you still insist on a Council member taking on the position than give it to Sokka. While he doesn't know all the everyday procedures with Flynn's help he'll be able to manage." She snapped. Aang snorted and glanced at Zuko and Kenai who were silently communicating with each other. Toph tried to stair them down until finally Kenai let out a reluctant sigh.

"Very well. I'll stop by Air Temple Island and tell him myself." Kenai murmured.

"No need. He is currently living with me I'll tell him." Toph muttered. She took off her badge, headband and her cable pack before walking out of the room slamming the door behind her. Aang picked up the badge and was surprised to find it didn't have a healthy layer of dirt on it like most of her clothes contained.

"Why do I feel like we just made a huge mistake?" He muttered.

…

Azula tried to rub her nose against her shoulder in an attempt to relieve the terrible itch. Once again she was placed in a straitjacket while she waited for the doctors to come in to review her case as they did each year. After several failed attempts to rub her nose she screamed in frustration and began shaking her head. The episode caused the nurses to run into the room in a panic.

"Don't just stand there you peasants my nose itches!" She snapped. Azula was preoccupied trying to scratch the itch herself that she didn't even notice the eye rolls the nurses gave her. One came over to her and began to scratch while the other went into the other room to get put away the sedative they often used on her when she was in the middle of an episode.

"You have a visitor again." The nurse said cheerfully.

"If it's my pudgy uncle or dim whited brother send them away I don't want to deal with their superficial attempts to reach out to me. Oh for the love of all things scared stop scratching you're going to break the skin!" She snapped. The nurse stepped away from her patient silently wondering why anyone would come to see the former princess when she treated everyone like horse dung.

"No it's not your brother or uncle it's your friend Hyousuke." She said. Azula raised an eyebrow before nodding silently giving the ok for the nurse to show him in. She straightened her spine and lifted her chin in an attempt to look regal despite the restraints. She heard Hyousuke come in before he addressed her.

"Is it safe to speak?" she asked. He didn't come around to see her but that wasn't unusual he never did when he came to visit. Azula didn't know what he looked like, part of her wondered if Hyousuke was just a part of her imagination like those terrible visions of her mother. She was torn from her musings by the sound of a foot slamming hard onto the ground.

"Yes my lady." He muttered.

"Explain to me why I'm still in this straitjacket." She snapped. She heard a sharp intake of breath and the sound of chair legs being scrapped across the floor.

"The plan was executed flawlessly we had the earth bender imprisoned but Ryun decided at the last minute that we could use the children of your enemies as weapons against their parents. This gave the Avatar time to find our hide out." He explained. Azula bit her lip to keep her temper under control lest she draw the attention of the nurses or doctors that patrolled the halls better than any guard her father employed.

"That miserable wretch. I heard that he is dead is that true or is he hiding out in one of the many safe houses you've set up?" She asked. Hyousuke whistled a small tune as he delayed answering the question. She heard him get up from his chair and hop from one foot to the other.

"The body washed away into the outskirts of the city." He said. She nodded a small smile of satisfaction graced her lips.

"Good I don't need failures in my army. And the earth bender what of her?" She asked. Being forced to live apart from society Azula never heard any news except for when the nurses gossiped when they believed she was asleep or when Hyousuke came to visit.

"Surprisingly she has been made into the perfect scapegoat. She was just placed on suspension." He said.

"Excellent isolate her in any way that you can. I want her to feel completely alone and helpless. When she is finally pushed to her lowest point I want you to strike." Azula said.

"Forgive me my Lady but why are you starting with the earth bender? Why not the non-bender or your brother." He asked. She sighed as though the answer was obvious.

"She is a strong bender it's better to dismantle the stronger side of the bumbling bunch and work your way down to the weakest than pick them off weakest to strongest. Also I bare a personal grudge against her for all the brotherly love Zuko gave to her and denied me his blood." She said softly. The room grew deadly silent as the weight of her words oozed into the atmosphere like a plague.

"Carry out my will and leave those children alone they're not part of this." She snapped. To signal that she wanted him to leave she jerked her head to the side. Azula heard the sound of a chair being placed back into its proper place and the sound of a door closing. When she was certain that she was alone Azula allowed two small tears to fall down her cheek.

…

Toph slid out of her bed when she heard the sound of Sokka's obnoxious snoring coming from down the hall. Silently she slipped out of her pajamas and into her traveling clothes. She mentally thanked herself over and over again for insisting that they be as baggy as possible. While her shirt was a little snug like most of her clothes it would work for the amount of time she was going to be gone. Reluctantly she left her pins and headbands untouched and opted instead to bush her hair back into the only other style she could do quickly, a ponytail. However once she finished the tail made her feel like a fraud.

"At least this way if someone comes looking for me they won't be able to find me by asking for a pregnant bun head." She reassured herself. The bag she had packed while Sokka had been making dinner still laid where she had left it under the bed.

When she triple checked that she had everything she needed Toph opened the door as quietly as possible. The door closed behind her with a click that she thought to be louder than necessary. After making a mental note to oil the hinges did she stop and listen if Sokka had been disturbed by the sounds. When he appeared not to be effected Toph ran down the hallway to the living room where her friend insisted on sleeping. She placed tip toed past Sokka to the mantel where she picked up her space bracelet and secured it on her upper arm. Making sure to lock the door behind her Toph walked off to the train station without looking back.

When she got to her destination Toph stood on the steps to the entrance of the station debating whether or not to take the last train out of the city. The thought of abandoning her men and her friends made her sick to the stomach but on the other hand there was nothing she could do here. After a few moments of internal debate Toph walked up to the ticket stand and bought the last ticket out of the city.

The train was full of passengers that Toph didn't bother to try and find a seat instead she leaned against the wall. The window felt cool against her cheek and the smell of fresh pine littered the train making her feel at ease if only just a little bit.

After traveling all night Toph had a pounding headache at the base of her skull. She prodded the place where the ache seemed to be coming from but felt nothing. Eventually she decided that the ache was probably from sleeping on the train and dismissed it. She pushed her way through the train station trying to get sense the vibrations of the person who was supposed to be meeting her.

"Toph! Over here!" someone called. She turned her foot to the left zeroing in on the vibrations of Haru waving his arms like a deranged artic-hen. She couldn't contain the grin that spread across her face as she ran over to her friend.

"Hey Haru! Where is Iroh?" She asked. The older boy scoffed in exasperation before pointing behind him toward something Toph couldn't see. When he didn't explain she waved a hand in front of her face making Haru blush in embarrassment.

"Sorry I forgot. He saw a tea stand toward the entrance of the station and he couldn't resist. I'm assuming that he is going to wait for us there." He said. She snorted not particularly surprised. They walked side by side with Haru's arm draped loosely around her shoulders. They chatted about how things were going in his village.

"So I'm here until the shipment of parts for the new well come in. Iroh was nice enough to offer to let me stay in the rooms just above the Jasmine Dragon. But enough about me what in the name of sanity are you doing here? Isn't this your busiest time of the year." Haru asked. Toph shrugged and explained to him the events that had happened in the past couple of months.

"Ouch talk about nerve but wait a second. What do you mean you found Kanto in bed with another woman?" Haru said. Toph groaned of all the things he could have focused on this was last thing she wanted to talk about.

"I'm not sure how you could misunderstand that bit of the story," She said tartly. "None the less he is gone and I'll never see him again." By then they reached the tea stand that Haru had described earlier but there was no sign of Iroh. Figuring they could spare a few moments the older man pulled his friend off to a more secluded corner of the station.

"It just doesn't make sense I've known Kanto my entire life he wouldn't dare cheat on the girl he was going to marry. He was too afraid of turning out like his father." Haru said. Toph felt the pounding headache return with vigor. In an attempt to sooth it she began to massage the back of her neck to no avail.

"I thought so too Haru. But I can't explain his actions or read his mind, I can only tell you what I saw. Ask him if you want a better explanation." She snapped. Haru noticed that Iroh had three cups of tea and was looking around for them.

"Fair enough, but you should know that Kanto is here in Ba Sing Se although it's unlikely you'll bump into him the doctors are…never mind." He said quickly in response to Toph's shocked face. Haru wanted to slam his hand to his head in his letters Kanto mentioned that he never wanted Toph to know.

"Doctors? What's wrong with him?" she prompted. Haru shook his head while slowly beginning to retreat towards Iroh but Toph grabbed his upper arm in a death grip. When he shook his head again she tightened her grip on his arm and began to twist making him gasp in pain.

"He made me swear not to tell you." Haru wheezed. Toph pulled him down to eyelevel and squeezed as hard as she could.

"Tell me what?" She demanded.

"He was diagnosed with cancer." Haru wheezed. She let him go and stepped away from him. For the past few months whenever she thought about Kanto hate and bitterness tore through her like a pack of wolves. She couldn't bare to feel any of his things around her apartment so she had them thrown out. Still Toph felt as though someone had shoved a branding iron down her throat.

"How far along is he?" She asked. Haru didn't want to tell her and opened his mouth to say just that but Iroh intervened. He placed one cup in Haru's hands and forced Toph to take another. She nodded her thanks and began gulping it down. As she drank Iroh put an arm around her shoulders.

"You need to calm down Toph or you will end up hurting the child." Iroh said rationally. When she finished her tea she grabbed the other cup in Iroh's hand and began drinking that in smaller sips.

"That was mine." He said. She smiled at him apologetically but she took another sip. Haru slammed his foot down creating a tiny little bench for them to sit on. She nodded her thanks before sitting down. She lifted her head waiting for them to tell her the rest.

"I'm calm know just tell me." She said. Iroh and Haru exchanged an uncertain look before turning back to Toph.

"He is in the final stages. The doctors say there is nothing more that can be done except make him as comfortable as possible." Haru said frankly. Toph took a shaky breath to steady herself. She didn't say anything for a few seconds and Iroh was half tempted to give her Haru's cup of tea but before he could however she stood up.

"Where is that moron? No wait I know where he is. Iroh, Haru I'll see you at the Jasmine Dragon!" She called. Before either could stop her she sprinted off into the city. The two men looked at her until she was just a speck in the distance.

"Should we try to stop her?" Haru asked. Iroh kept his eyes fixed on her general direction a sage look came over his face as he took the tea out of Haru's hands and began to drink.

"If you value your life I wouldn't risk it." Iroh murmured. Haru raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

Toph slowed to a walk when she reached the middle ring. She began to feel a dizzy so she leaned against a lamp post for a few seconds to get her pounding heart. She placed a hand over the decent sized cantaloupe of a baby bump that made her tire easily. After she got a grip on herself Toph continued walking toward a string of apartments she knew well. When they would finish a difficult or heartbreaking case Kanto and Toph often came to Ba Sing Se to get away. She slammed her foot down on the ground just to check that her hunch was correct.

When she confirmed that Kanto was in fact in the apartment she took a deep breath and walked into the large building. The apartment was tinier than the one they shared for five years in Republic City. She wondered why they ever agreed to have their apartment so high up on the sixth floor. She had to rest a few times before she managed to reach the right apartment. When she came to the door Toph froze.

Do I really want to do this, she thought. Toph recalled that horrible night. He just stood there staring at her before Aang and Zuko chased him off. She couldn't see him but from his vibrations she could tell he wasn't anxious or even afraid until Zuko launched a fireball at his head. Did that mean he had grown tired of her, she wondered.

"If he had why didn't he just break things off?" She whispered to herself. She stepped away from the door. She was determined to leave and let the matter rest forever but then she recalled how Katara and even Zuko advised her to at the very least write a letter to Kanto telling him that he was going to be a father. She made a face and tried to stop herself from thinking as she took another step towards the stairs.

"I must be out of my mind." She muttered. Toph spun around on her heel walked toward the door and knocked on it three times. She felt shifting vibrations and silently prayed that there was no one else was with him. She slammed her foot down on the ground sending out more vibrations. The other heartbeat she was feeling was coming from her stomach. The baby had caused her to misread several vibrations over the past few months. Toph triple checked the room sighing with relief when she realized that Kanto was in fact alone.

She heard the door open and braced herself for whatever reception she might face.


	6. The Tales of Ba Sing Se

Toph felt Kanto's heartbeat spike up when he saw her, whether in fear or anxiety she didn't know. He tried to close the door on her, but she blocked him by placing her foot in the doorway.

"Five minutes, you owe me that much." Toph snapped. Kanto sighed in defeat and opened the door for her to come inside. She paused for a moment before walking past him into the very apartment that held so many memories between them. Their relationship practically began here in Ba Sing Se.

"Four minutes, forty-eight seconds. What do you want?" Kanto snapped. She turned towards him and glared.

"I want you to look at me and tell me why you did it." Toph said. He groaned and sat down on the couch as far away from her as he could get. She made no move to get closer to him instead she leaned against the wall, and waited for him to start talking.

"Whatever redeeming picture of me you have in your head is just fanciful thinking. We were having problems and frankly I was falling out of love with you. Anyway I see you're pregnant, so why does this matter now? You've obviously moved on." He snapped. The young earth bender took a deep breath and counted back from ten. Toph tried to remind herself that if she wanted to say what she needed to, she was going to have to get a grip on her temper.

"The baby is yours you dunderhead." She snapped. Toph felt Kanto's heart spike again for a brief moment before slowing.

"Ahh so this is what this is about. We talked about this before neither one of us wanted kids and I want to keep it that way. If you came here looking for help you might as well get out right now." Kanto said.

That was the last straw. Toph used her earth bending to force the couch that Kanto was sitting on to topple over. He landed on the floor, but that didn't stop him. Without missing a beat he dug out two boulders from the ground and launched them at Toph's face. She put her arms out in front of her in a fighting stance and threw the boulders to the side. She kicked the ground hard causing Kanto to be entrapped in a series of spikes. He struggled to free himself but with his legs and arms completely apart he couldn't.

"While your trapped over there listen up. I came here because I heard you were dying and I felt sorry for you. I thought that you deserved to know that you were going to be a father. Now I see that I was wrong to have stayed with you for five years. You're a pathetic man and there is nothing inside you." She said. Before Kanto could say anything she walked away leaving him trapped as he was.

When she left the building it was raining. She didn't want to go back to the Jasmine Dragon and endure the millions of questions Haru would ask. She walked around ignoring the sheets and sheets of rain that ran down her back causing her to shiver.

…

Sokka blew on baby Tenzin's belly making the infant burst into a fit of giggles. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his little sister leaning against the doorway, smiling at the pair of them. She moved forward and held out her hands for her newborn son.

"Alright playtime is over, it is nap time." Katara said firmly. Sokka bounced his nephew in his arms before passing Tenzin to Katara. She began patting Tenzin on the back gently in an attempt to sooth Tenzin to sleep.

"Any word?" Sokka asked. Katara glanced up at her brother for a brief moment and flicked her eyes toward the door. A silent signal for him to wait for her. Sokka let out a reluctant huff before walking out of the nursery. He leaned against the wall impatiently. While he waited Sokka examined the boomerang his father made to replace the one he lost during Sozin's Comet. Mentally he took note that he needed to have the ends sharpened soon and that the designs needed to be repainted. As he was examining his weapons Katara quietly tip toed out of the nursery. Sokka opened his mouth to speak but she put her finger to her lips. She waved him forward down the hall. When they came to the balcony that overlooked the sea Katara leaned out to absorb more of the fresh sea air.

"I was so glad when Aang put in this balcony. I feel so at peace up here." Katara said. Sokka didn't respond instead he sat up on the railing to make himself more comfortable as he looked out at the ocean. The look of worry on his face made Katara feel guilty.

"She's going to be fine Sokka. Toph is as strong as lion turtle and three times as stubborn." Katara said. Sokka laughed at the thought and nodded in agreement.

"She's the finest earth bender I've ever seen of course she is going to be fine. That's not what I'm worried about. Something is coming Katara, something horrible and cruel. I don't know from where. I don't know who. I don't know when, but I feel it all the way down to my bones. And I'm starting to think Toph is the prime target." Sokka murmured. Katara waved those thoughts away passing it off as paranoia.

"You're just weary because of all the madness that's been going on in Republic City." She said. Sokka kept staring out at the ocean longing to take a boat out to sea and get some good meat.

"I hope your right. So bringing the conversation back to focus, has there been any word?" Sokka asked. Katara rolled her eyes and dug out a sheet of paper. She offered it over to Sokka, who began to skim over it eagerly.

"Milk, tofu, green peppers…what is this?" Sokka demanded to know. Katara blushed and quickly dug into her pockets. She fished out a new piece of paper and held it out to him. Sokka rolled his eyes and handed back the one in his hand.

"Oops wrong paper. That is the grocery list for this week. Iroh called the house two nights ago Toph arrived in Ba Sing Se safely. She was with Kanto when he phoned." Katara said. Sokka read over the paper that held Iroh's report in a neat hand that he recognized as Zuko's handwriting.

"What is she doing with that…" Sokka paused trying to think of a word that would fit. Katara smacked him on his forearm to stop him from finishing that sentence.

"He is the father of her child. She probably went to go tell him the news." Katara said. She glanced over at her brother only to see him shake his head angrily. He folded the note twice and handed it back to her with a huff.

"Hey relax, from the looks of it Toph is going to be back soon. Not to mention Zuko went after her to bring her back to Republic City. Judging from your expression one would think that she's gone off on a dangerous quest and not a vacation." Katara muttered sarcastically. Sokka rolled his eyes at his sister's attempt to shame him into lightening up. He looked out toward the open sea half expecting to see a large red dragon flying in toward the stables.

"It's not that I'm worried. Especially since Zuko has gone after her. Honestly if those two had the mind they could take over the world. I'm just irritated that I have to stay here." He muttered. Katara looked at her brother suspiciously, his stance was relaxed, his face betrayed nothing except boredom, but his eyes betrayed him.

"You love her just admit it." Katara pressed. She discreetly bit down on the inside of her cheek waiting impatiently for him to answer. Sokka rested his chin on his arms as he looked out at the sea just to annoy his little sister.

"Sokka." She snapped impatiently.

"What do you want from me Katara?" He snapped. Sokka intended to make his voice as harsh as possible to ward off her interrogation. To reinforce the message, he turned towards her and narrowed his eyes in a glare.

"The truth." She answered easily. Sokka dropped his gaze and buried his head in his arms like an ostrich-horse.

"There is no winning with you." He said defeated. Katara examined her nails and rested against the railing in a triumphant nonchalant stance. Sokka raised his head and straightened up, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to sooth his stiff muscles. He hoped that Katara would begin to gloat so he could steer the conversation away from the topic at hand, however she just looked at him with raised eyebrows. After a moment Katara huffed and looked at him in irritation.

"It's so obvious Sokka, especially after the incident with Ryun. Why…" Sokka cut her off by throwing his hands up in an angry grunt.

"What do you want from me? To admit that yes I'm in love with her. That I want to beat Kanto into a bloody pulp for hurting her. Or that I don't know what I'll do if anything bad ever happens to her, or the baby." He snapped. Katara put her hand on his shoulder, instantly making him feel ashamed for yelling at his little sister.

"Is that the truth?" She prompted. He looked at her wearily before turning his attention back to the ocean. Off in the distance he could just barely see two dolphins frolicking in the water.

"Even if it was, nothing can ever come from it. Isn't that obvious?" Sokka snapped. Katara bit back the sharp retort she had for him. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that her brother's happiness was at stake.

"Not to me." She said with a calm that Katara didn't feel. In actual fact she wanted to hit them both over the head for their obliviousness. Sokka looked at his sister with a glare, for forcing him to confront his feelings. The water bending master simply glanced back at him, trying and failing to keep her expression as neutral as possible.

"In the first place, Toph would have to love me too in order to make any type of relationship work. As we all know that's not possible. For arguments sake let's say that by some miracle Toph did love me. We still couldn't be together. When a council member is sworn into office, the oath we take specifically states that council members are forbidden from becoming romantically involved with other council members, or members of the police force. So we'd be breaking the law. That's why I don't want to talk about my feelings! Because talking about it knowing that I can't be with her, just makes my heart ache. So please just stop asking me." He said firmly. Before Katara could come up with a suitable retort Sokka stomped away.

…

Zuko placed a hand over Toph's forehead. After a few moments he pulled away and shook his head. He dipped a cloth into a small bowl of cool well water, rung out the excess and draped it gently over her head.

"Foolish girl, disappearing for two days with the weather like this." Zuko murmured. To prove his point thunder roared loudly outside. He pulled another blanket over her to keep her warm. He glanced at the door impatiently waiting for a healer to arrive to check Toph over. He brushed back the strands of her hair revealing her face. Dark circles were under her eyelids and her lips were chapped. The blood was gone from her cheeks making her appear frailer then she was.

"Sokka it's too hot get off." Toph mumbled. Zuko raised a surprised eyebrow, had they been sleeping together, he wondered. After reasoning it though he seriously doubted it. She turned on her side with a sigh, and mumbled Sokka's name once more. Zuko readjusted the towel on her forehead before exiting the guest room to get her an icepack. He ran into his Uncle who was cooking a potato soup over the stove.

"It makes no sense, why would we warm her up and then try and cool her down at the same time?" Zuko muttered. Iroh added in some shredded cheese and bits of bacon to the soup before beginning to ladle out their dinner into three different bowls.

"Has she woken up yet?" Iroh asked.

"No but she seems to be hallucinating. She talks as though Sokka was here. Where is that healer?" Zuko murmured. He glanced out the window expecting to see a healer waddling towards the building, but the street was empty.

"Patience Zuko, the healer had to go deliver a baby across town. Toph isn't in any danger she just needs medicine and rest." Iroh said calmly. His nephew didn't listen, and instead huffed his impatience.

"You should call Air Temple Island, and let the others now what happened." Iroh suggested. Finding no alternative to take away his edge Zuko walked over to the phone that hung in the kitchen, and began to dial the number he had memorized. He thumped his fingers against the wooden counter as he waited for someone to answer the phone. After the third ring he heard someone pick up.

"Hello?" Katara yawned. Zuko leaned against the wall making himself comfortable as he spoke to her. When he noticed his Uncle looking at him Zuko turned away, effectively hiding his facial expressions.

"I'm sorry did I wake you?" He asked. He heard her shush someone, probably one of her kids before answering him.

"I was just dozing off it isn't important. For spirit's sake Sokka I'm on the phone! How is Toph?" Katara asked. Zuko snorted when he heard Sokka demanding to talk to Toph. He glanced over at the window again and sighed.

"Well I don't have all the details, the only one who does is Toph herself, but apparently after she finished talking to Kanto she went for a walk in the rain for two days. Long story short she's in the guest room with a high fever and suffering from hallucinations. Uncle Iroh called for a healer, but she's not here yet." Zuko reported. He didn't hear anything for a few moments. At first he thought that the line had been disconnected, but he could still hear noises.

"Hello?" He asked uncertainly.

"Aang! Wake up, and saddle Appa. We're going to Ba Sing Se!" Katara and Sokka roared. Zuko's eyes widened and he nearly dropped the phone in surprise.

"Hold on Katara! I've already told you we called a healer. You all can't just pack up and go to Ba Sing Se." Zuko said reasonably. He wasn't heard, instead he got the dial tone. Zuko pulled the phone away from his ear and glared at it, offended.

"Uncle Iroh, we're gonna have company in about two hours." Zuko said. Iroh chuckled and pulled out more ingredients for the stew.

"Good it's been far too long since any of you have visited me. Go take that ice pack to Toph, and sit with her. I'll bring dinner to the guest room for the three of us." Iroh said dismissively. He pointed towards a pile of crushed ice wrapped in a cloth.

"Thanks Uncle." Zuko muttered. He took the icepack and walked down the hall toward the guest room. When he entered Toph was tossing and turning, all the blankets had been kicked off, and the towel was nowhere to be found.

"Sokka it hurts." Toph mumbled. Zuko felt like he was two inches tall. All he could do was place the icepack over her, put the blankets back, and take her hand. He pulled up the stool he was using before, and waited for to wake up. She didn't seem to be soothed by his touch, if anything she didn't seem to be aware that someone was even touching her. Zuko kept wrestling with her over the ice pack. Eventually all the ice had begun to melt to the point where it was nothing more than a wet towel. Not wanting to leave her side, Zuko tossed the towel in the corner figuring she didn't really need it anyway. He kept glancing out the window for any signs of the healer, but each time he looked he saw nothing. Toph kept mumbling for Sokka, making Zuko wish that the Water Tribesmen was here instead of him. Eventually he began to nod off until finally he fell asleep sitting up.

He was jolted awake by the sound of a door slamming open. Zuko looked up to see Katara standing in the doorway. She ignored him, instead she rushed over to Toph water bending the water in her pouch that she always kept with her. She applied the glowing water to Toph's forehead. After a few moments Katara took her hand away and moved it to Toph's growing belly. When the water bending master began to lift up Toph's shirt, Zuko took that as his cue to go. He stepped out into the hallway to see Sokka standing there looking anxious.

"Where is Aang?" Zuko asked.

"He elected to stay behind to watch over the kids for the night. Once Katara is finished healing Toph, she plans to fly back on Appa so that she can be back at Air Temple Island by morning." Sokka said. Zuko raised an eyebrow when his friend didn't include himself in those plans.

"And you?" Zuko prompted.

"That depends. Katara can't go alone, at the same time Toph can't be left alone either. Who do you want to stay with?" Sokka asked. The Firelord saw right through his friend. Sokka was conflicted on the one hand he wanted to make sure his sister arrived back to her home safely, but he didn't want to abandon the woman he loved so easily.

"Let's hear what Katara has to say about Toph's condition before we make any decisions." Zuko said wisely. While he wanted to say that he would go with Katara, but Zuko knew that if Toph was too sick to travel back to Republic City for a few days that Sokka would be unable to stay with her. Sokka nodded looking a bit forlorn, but thankfully he didn't protest. They fell into an awkward silence.

"She's been asking for you." Zuko said bluntly. When the words came out of his mouth Zuko wished he hadn't said them. Sokka straightened up as though someone had lit a fire under his feet. The water tribesman opened his mouth to say something but Katara stepped out of the guest room, and closed the door quietly behind her.

"I got here just in time. Had we been any later the baby's life would have been in danger. I managed to neutralize most of the fever but Toph needs rest for tonight. While she won't be a hundred percent, but she will be able to travel." Katara said. Zuko and Sokka's eyes widened at the mention of the baby's life being in danger. He hadn't thought that Toph's fever was that serious. To him it looked as though she had just caught a cold.

"Alright so when do you want to leave, Katara?" Zuko asked. Katara looked up at her friend in surprise. However Sokka walked past them into the guest room. They waited for the door to shut before Katara and Zuko both shook their heads.

"They're both the most oblivious pair of individuals I've met." Katara muttered. Zuko nodded, and let out a deep sigh that he had been holding in.

"I'm half tempted to lock them both in a closet until they see sense." Zuko admitted. The water bending master snapped her fingers remembering something, and turned her head to look at him.

"Did you know about the rule that council members and police officers aren't allowed to date?" She asked. Zuko snorted and shook his head.

"Katara it isn't enforced. You remember Councilmen Kenai and Captain Ami? They've been openly dating for the past three years. Kenai and Councilwoman Ayla have been lobbying to have the rule overturned, but there have been so many other important matters no one has given the rule much thought." Zuko said. She looked baffled at the news and glared at the guest room door.

"Sokka must have known about that rule…" Zuko cut off Katara before she could finish her accusation.

"Probably not. You have to remember Katara, when Sokka decided to stay in the South Pole the Council was just taking off. In the past five years much has changed. It's only natural that Sokka is still figuring this all out." Zuko defended. She sighed sadly and looked at the door.

"Leave them alone you two. They will figure it out when the time is right." Iroh said. Both of them jumped, although Iroh was retired he could still sneak up on someone without a second thought.

"Geez Uncle, do we need to put a bell on you or something?" Zuko asked. Iroh laughed at his nephew's antics, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come, I'll make you all some tea and we can play a friendly game of Pai Sho before you both head back to Republic City." He said. Iroh lead the two of them down the hallway towards the living room. The older man didn't notice his nephew and Katara glance back at the guest room uncertainly.

…

Sokka sat on the stool next to the bed. He shook his head, in an attempt to rid himself of the memory of the conversation with Katara. Toph was sleeping rather peacefully her forehead while a little warm probably wasn't as feverish as Sokka had originally pictured. He retracted his hand from her forehead when she cried out. Her eyelids fluttered open revealing two green eyes that would never see him.

"Katara!" Sokka called. Before he could get up, and call for his sister again a clammy pale hand covered his.

"No it's fine, the baby is just kicking really hard." Toph muttered. To prove it she took his hand, and guided it to the top of her belly. Sokka was surprised to feel a fluttering sensation against his palm.

"Spirits above that's amazing." Sokka muttered. The young earth bender sat up so that she could rest her back against the stone wall, so that she could see.

"I don't know if it's because I rely on my other senses to see or because it's my first baby but it feels like the kicks are harder than they should be." Toph whined. She massaged her temples to ease a bit of her headache. She began to shiver when the air touched her bare skin causing her to pull up the blankets. Sokka noticed and began unlacing his boots and removing his weapons.

"Scoot over." He ordered. For once Toph didn't argue instead she did as he asked and let Sokka pull the sheets back. He settled himself next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Since when did you become my personal hot water bottle?" She yawned. Absently Sokka rubbed his thumb over her upper arm in a lazy circle. Toph rested her head against his chest and made sure her head was down so that he wouldn't see her smile.

"Hush up and go back to sleep." He ordered. She yawned again, and shook her head defiantly.

"You're supposed to be in Republic City, what are you doing here?" Toph asked.

"Zuko called and told us that you came back to the Jasmine dragon two days after you had arrived, drenched from the rain and delirious with a high fever. Katara and I saddled Appa and came here as soon as we heard." He said. Toph tried to roll her eyes but all she managed to do was flick them off to the side.

"You worry too much." She yawned. Sokka flicked her in the forehead making her swat him away.

"And your problem is that you don't worry at all. How could you have been so foolish to go walking around in the rain like that?" He chided.

"I needed to clear my head. Things with Kanto didn't go over too well, and by the time I was ready to go back I didn't recognize where I was." She said sadly. Sokka's arm tightened. Toph looked down so that he wouldn't see her wince.

"Just say the word, and I'll castrate him without a second thought." He said. Sokka wanted to ask her about why she went to see Kanto, and a million other questions but he held his tongue. Toph snorted at his offer and put a hand over her stomach.

"While it's tempting it's not necessary. He wants nothing to do with the baby, and it's unlikely he'll ever step foot in Republic City so I doubt that I'll ever see him again." She muttered. Sokka looked down at her, and it dawned on him that her hair was down and hung around her waist in a matted mess.

"What are you going to tell the baby when he gets older?" Sokka asked. Toph let out a long sigh and shook her head.

"What can I say? Sweetie your dad was a bastard and didn't want you. I know I'm blunt, but I'm not cruel. I don't plan to say anything. I'd rather the baby resent me for keeping Kanto a secret than the alternative." Toph sighed.

"Maybe he'll change his mind." Sokka offered weakly. Even as he said it he didn't believe it. Toph looked up at him her face had skepticism written all over it.

"That's the pathetic part. Every word that came out of his mouth was the truth. He wants nothing to do with the baby and he doesn't love me like I hoped he would. I know it sounds silly for me to say something like that, but when Haru told me that Kanto was sick part of me hoped that maybe that was the reason why he left me. That his unfaithfulness was just some ruse to push me away, but I was wrong and it hurts." Toph said. She turned away from him so that Sokka wouldn't see the tears threatening to fall from her face. However the second she turned the other way the baby started kicking in protest. Toph closed her eyes and wiped the tears away with her hand.

"He's the biggest idiot in the world." Sokka muttered. The baby's kicking eventually got to her and Toph turned so that she was on her back which didn't help at all.

"I know I just wish so many things were different." Toph muttered.

"Like what?" He asked. Before Toph could answer Katara came into the room and asked for Sokka to come with her for a few moments. With a reluctant sigh Sokka pulled the covers back, and followed his sister out the door. When he was gone Toph felt the shivers come back. In an attempt to warm herself up she grabbed as much blanket as she could and made herself a little cocoon.

"I wish the baby was yours you dunderhead." She whispered to herself. Toph placed her hand on the stone wall in front of her before she began to cry herself to sleep.

By the time Sokka got back after seeing his sister and friend off, Toph was fast asleep. He noticed that she had wrapped the blankets tightly around herself. Sokka bit down on his lip and decided against sleeping next to her. Instead he took her hand and decided to sit with her for a few more moments before seeking refuge on the couch in the living room.

…

When Toph came down the steps of the Jasmine Dragon, she looked exhausted but much better than she did last night. Iroh and Sokka exchanged worried looks, before Iroh decided to say something.

"Good morning Toph, did you have pleasant dreams?" Iroh asked cautiously. Toph sat down at the breakfast table and let her head fall as far towards the table as her stomach would allow.

"I'm tired of being fat and having strange dreams about the baby. Not to mention the little Badgermole keeps kicking no matter what position I try to sleep in." Toph whined. Iroh looked at her in understanding. Sokka on the other hand rolled his eyes when he heard her nickname for the baby.

"I hate to break it to you Toph, but that just means you're gonna have your hands full by the time he's born." Sokka predicted. Toph snorted because she had heard Katara say something similar when the water bending master was pregnant with Bumi.

"Why is everyone predicting that it's gonna be a boy, maybe he will turn out to be a girl." Toph retorted. Iroh chuckled, and brought over some tea for the three of them. Each took a cup with a smile of gratitude.

"Toph has a point. No matter what gender the child will be so long as he or she is healthy it will be a true blessing." He said sagely. Sokka glanced up at the clock up on the wall and excused himself, saying he had to get their tickets to return to Republic City. Iroh waved him off before glancing back at Toph who hadn't even touched her tea, despite the fact that Iroh had done his best to make her favorite tea.

"Is the morning sickness kicking up again?" Iroh guessed. He rushed forward to grab a bucket. After hearing tales of her morning sickness from Zuko, Iroh made sure to keep several buckets handy especially when the fish vender came around this way.

"No, my thoughts keep getting to me. So long as the baby is healthy everything will be alright, is what I keep trying to say to myself. However Katara and Izu both told me that there is a good chance that the baby will be blind like me. You and I both know that there is also a good chance that the baby may not be able to earth bend. If that happens I won't be able to teach the baby to see with his or her feet. I lose sleep at night just thinking about it. I've even had nightmares about it." Toph muttered sadly. Unconsciously she put her hand on her stomach. Iroh looked at the young woman in understanding.

"What if he or she is born with goat's feet. What if the moon falls from the sky and your nose falls off," Toph looked at him incredulously making Iroh laugh and continue. "Welcome to the world of parenthood Toph. From one parent to another I can tell you, we spend every single aching hour fretting over our children. Are they eating enough or over eating? Did I bundle them up enough or are they cold? Am I being too lenient or too harsh? Believe me what your feeling is completely normal, but whether or not the baby is blind or can earth bend is beyond your control. When the time comes you will cross that bridge. For now focus on taking care of yourself and doing your best to make sure that the baby is as healthy as you can make him or her." Toph nodded in understanding and smiled for the first time since her visit with Kanto.

"Thanks Iroh you've really helped me." She said earnestly.

"I'm glad." Iroh said.

After a big breakfast the pair began to open the tea shop for the day. While Iroh didn't want Toph to help out, she insisted on doing just that in exchange for all the help she received since she got to Ba Sing Se. For the first couple of hours it was extremely busy, to the point that Iroh was happy to have an extra pair of hands, however when things began to wind down he shooed Toph off to go and have some fun.

Toph wandered through the market, but shopping never really appealed to her unless she was dragged along by Sokka. As she walked, she began to wonder where he was, buying train tickets didn't take that long. Before she could delve into that too deeply, she slapped her hands over her cheeks and kept walking.

It was getting difficult to navigate her way through with the baby kicking so much. After a few more minutes of walking Toph couldn't stand it, and went to go sit down on the ledge of a fountain in the middle of the market. Before she could get too comfortable the baby began to kick again. Frustrated she put a hand over her stomach.

"Hey, settle down in there. What is wrong now, is there not enough space for you, or something? Because I'm as big as a war balloon thanks to you." Toph muttered. As though to back sass her the baby kicked three more times much to Toph's irritation. When she heard someone laughing Toph slammed her foot down and groaned.

"Don't. say. anything." She growled. To spare her feelings, Sokka sat next to her without a word. He put his hand over her stomach to feel the baby kicking. Toph blushed, but didn't fight him as he began to rub her belly.

"Hello little one settle down, and let your mother rest." He said softly. Toph was amazed that the kicking began to stop. When neither of them felt anything Sokka took his hand away.

"Finally! I was beginning to think the kicking would never stop." She said with a long sigh. Sokka laughed, and looked at his best friend fondly.

"Happy to be of service. Speaking of which those people down at the train station are swindlers. It was twice as much money for one ticket to Republic City, then it was for two tickets to Ba Sing Se." He said. A look of realization came over Toph's face for a brief moment, before she was able to mask it into indifference. So that's what took him so long, she thought.

"I don't want to go back. I left for a reason." She said stubbornly. Sokka sighed expecting her to say something along those lines. He put his arm around her, when she rested her head on his shoulder Sokka could keep himself from smiling.

"I know, but you still have duties in Republic City. Don't forget you still have to meet with Archer so that the two of you can prepare for the inquiry. The investigation into Ryun's death is almost over." He reminded her. Toph groaned dreading the day she would have to sit across the very person she despised.

"While I appreciate Zuko trying to help, but couldn't he have picked someone else. Anyone else would have been better than bloody Archer." Toph sighed. Sokka raised a surprised eyebrow.

"What's wrong with Archer?" He asked. Toph huffed not really wanting to explain, but she also wasn't in the mood to have him pester her with questions.

"He's the lawyer that managed to get the judge to declare a mistrial on the Perry case. I think I wrote to you about that one, it was roughly two years ago." She said. It took Sokka a few moments before he recalled the case she was talking about. He snapped his fingers when he began to remember most of the details.

"Oh the one that implicated one of the most notorious crime bosses in Republic City! That one right?" He asked. Sokka noticed that people were looking at them so he put his arm down, and scooted away from Toph until they were a respectable distance apart. She looked confused for a brief moment, but she didn't comment.

"The very same. We were this close to getting Yakone, and now none of the evidence we have against him can be used in court." She muttered angrily. Sokka sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're frustrated, but right now he's your best bet to getting out of this Inquiry without a trial. Just try, and work with him for now. After the inquiry you can get back to slaughtering each other." Sokka offered. For several moments she didn't say anything, so Sokka didn't either. Just as it was starting to awkward Toph let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine I'll go, but under protest." She said. Sokka rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything as they stood up to go back to the Jasmine Dragon to get their things together.


	7. Chapter 7

Sokka sorted through the mountain of paperwork with disdain. On his right where the papers that needed to have a response to them by the end of the day on the left were the ones that could be put off for a day or two. The ones he had no idea what to do with he asked Toph, who was currently lounging on the couch across from him.

"How do you manage all this paperwork?" Sokka muttered with a sigh. Toph looked up from her space bracelet that she was currently bending into various shapes only to smirk at him.

"Can't handle the slum pile? Which paper are you stuck on?" She asked. Sokka sighed and looked at the massive packet that the Homicide division sent. Although he knew it meant tons more work, the second he was placed into office Sokka insisted on having full reports of all previous cases from each division for the past six months. It wasn't that he didn't trust Toph but his gut told him that something was wrong.

"Homicide sent this one report I just can't seem to get a good handle on the case." He muttered. She sat up and raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. Sokka began to read the report out loud he barely got two sentences in before Toph cut him off.

"You're describing the Ayla case. I handled that particular case myself so I can probably clear up any confusing points." She said. Sokka reviewed the case once more before he put it on the left hand stack.

"No thanks I think I've got it. Do you always name your cases after the victim?" Sokka asked. Toph turned her attention back to her space bracelet as she shrugged.

"Yes I guess I do. It's because I don't ever want to forget a single person." She murmured. Sokka's eyebrows furrowed anxiously as he watched her eyes grow so sad and haunted. He wanted to go give her a hug but he stopped himself at the last second.

"What are you doing anyway? The slum pile usually doesn't have cases that have been closed for the past…" She paused trying to think how far back the case was, "three months." Sokka blushed and turned back to the files.

"Just doing some spring cleaning." He muttered. Sokka lifted his legs from the ground and crossed them on the wooden chair he was sitting on so she wouldn't sense that he was lying. Toph sat up and glared at him.

"Nice try but I can tell your lying. Sokka I sense vibrations it doesn't matter if you're sitting in a wooden chair your heart will still betray you." She snapped. The Councilman put his head in his hands and sighed.

"Geez are there any loopholes in your vision?" Sokka asked. Toph stood up and flopped down in the chair across from him with a glare.

"None that I have any intentions to tell you about. Now tell me what you're doing with cases from months back." Toph snapped. Before Sokka could tell her the truth a knock on the door interrupted them. She glared at him one last time before turning her head away.

"Enter!" They called out at the same time. Sokka glanced over at his best friend wearily, before turning his attention back to the task at hand. The door opened and Captain Tadashi stood there looking like he had just swallowed something fowl.

"That weasel Archer is making his way up to homicide." He muttered angrily. Toph sighed clutching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. She warned Zuko that sending the lawyer to the police station was a terrible idea.

"Escort him up to my office. We're expecting him." Toph ordered. Captain Tadashi groaned at the very thought of standing within ten feet of that particular lawyer. Everyone in the Homicide department, probably everyone in the entire police station hated his guts.

"Why?" He muttered. Sokka opened his mouth to explain but Toph beat him to it.

"Is that backtalk captain?" Toph asked. She didn't look at Captain Tadashi. She didn't have to the second those words left her mouth Tadashi was out the door. Sokka raised a surprised eyebrow.

"Now where were we?" Toph said bluntly. Sokka held up a hand for her to wait a second. He went back to the slum pile while they waited for Archer to arrive.

"Remember to at least try and be civil to this guy." Sokka muttered.

"If I agree to be civil will you tell me what the hell you're doing to my police force?" Toph retorted. He groaned and put a hand over his eyes in an attempt to sooth the pounding head ache that was beginning to form.

"Fine, fine. Let me finish this and be civil with this guy for the whole hour. Then and only then will I tell you what I'm doing." Sokka compromised. Toph held out her hand towards him to strike a deal. The water tribesman grabbed her hand and shook it a sign of a deal well struck. Sokka managed to sort through three more files before Archer came into the office. He began putting files into locked drawers, he made absolutely sure that the files he was trying desperately to hide from everyone were secure without Toph noticing.

"Councilman Sokka, Miss Beifong it's a pleasure to see you both again." Archer said. Toph bit down on her tongue and plastered a fake smile on her face. The sound of his voice made her skin crawl she had to resist the urge to punch him in the face.

"Archer please come in and have a seat. Just give me a few moments and I'll get out of your way." Sokka muttered. He began to clear away the rest of his things but Archer held up a hand to stop him.

"Actually I'd like to speak you as well Councilman." Archer said. Sokka sat back down and bit down on his lip to keep himself from laughing at Toph's annoyed expression. The lawyer sat down next to Toph, who was fidgeting uneasily in her seat.

"Alright Miss Beifong before we begin I must advise you on how to proceed during the inquiry. Don't elaborate, or try to do their jobs for them, keep your answers as simple as possible. Don't guess. Don't talk back. Above all do not threaten them with violence." Archer said firmly. Sokka glanced over at Toph who raised an eyebrow and turned her head toward Archer to glare at him incredulously.

"Are you seriously telling me how to conduct myself in an inquiry?" She retorted. Instead of shrinking into his seat like most people did when Toph used that tone Archer just smirked.

"Yes because for once Miss Beifong you are not in a position where you can ask the questions." He said. Toph sighed and motioned for him to proceed. Archer put his briefcase on the desk and pulled out several files stamped with the Council's seal on them.

"I thoroughly reviewed the joint report you wrote with Commander Flynn. As well as the case report filed by the investigative team the Council put together. For the most part both accounts seem to match up, however there are several discrepancies between several parts of each report. That being said the Council has no grounds to take this to trial. Before we start celebrating I need to know everything about the night Ryun died so I don't get blindsided during the inquiry." Archer said. His smile created an unsettling feeling in the pit of Sokka's stomach. Toph on the other hand leaned back in her chair and blew her hair away from her nose.

"What do you need to know?" She asked.

"Well I'll start with Councilman Sokka. Tell me about when Miss Beifong was reported to be abducted?" Archer said. Toph put her foot down on the floor to sense Sokka's reaction. His heartbeat raced for a brief moment before slowing as he cleared his throat.

"Any specific part?" Sokka asked cautiously. He sunk down in its chair when Archer began to smile.

"Well let's start with how you lead the investigation and refused to let any higher ranking officer assist you. Actually you refused the assistance of any officer at all. Commander Flynn had to track you in order to bring reinforcements. According to reports you showed an extreme…amount of anger to Miss Beifong's disappearance." Archer said. He flipped through several pages before finding the one he wanted and handed it over to Sokka. The Councilman took it with a sigh and began to read the reports written by the officers who were there the night Sokka took control of the rescue mission.

"That's not a question. However I do believe I displayed an appropriate response to my close friend being abducted." Sokka said. He handed back the file making sure that his face is devoid of any and all emotion. Archer took the file back with a skeptical look, he didn't buy it for a second. Toph could feel Sokka's heart beat so fast she could have sworn that his heart was going to explode at any second. She raised an eyebrow in surprise, Katara had mentioned to her that Sokka had been worried when she disappeared. Toph never realized exactly how worried he had been.

"Very well. Then could you explain to me why Miss Beifong was discovered in nothing but your shirt?" Archer asked. Toph and Sokka both blushed and began coughing to hide their embarrassment. Toph opened her mouth to reply with a snarky retort, but she felt Sokka tap his right foot on the ground three times, a discreet sign between them not to answer.

"Chief Beifong had been stripped of her clothing by the enemy. So in the interest of being a gentleman I gave her my shirt so that she could cover herself." Sokka snapped. Toph opened her mouth to protest that these questions had nothing to do with the inquiry tomorrow but Archer spoke first.

"Very well. Councilman are you sleeping with Miss Beifong?" He asked bluntly. Toph couldn't stay quiet any longer she turned toward him with her infamous glare.

"Excuse me, but how the hell is that question relevant?" She snapped. Archer held up a hand to silence her and turned his head towards Sokka.

"I expect an answer Councilman so will the judge when the District Attorney asks you the same question. You have a deep connection with Miss Beifong here a fact that will be exploited in order to establish Miss Beifong had reasonable motive to kill Ryun." Archer said. Sokka clenched his fists and glared at the weasel faced lawyer. He seriously debated slamming his fist into Archer's head, but he reminded himself that it wouldn't be worth all the paperwork.

"No I'm not sleeping with Chief Beifong. This interview is over." Sokka said firmly. Archer chuckled in a patronizing manner and shook his head.

"Very well Councilman you can wait in the hall. Miss Beifong I'd like to speak to you now." Archer said. Toph mentally groaned, taking a moment to school her face to reflect indifference before she nodded. She gestured for Sokka to leave the room, but instead of leaving Sokka sat back down.

"No way." He said firmly. Toph sighed and put her hand on her forehead before motioning for Archer to continue. While the lawyer didn't like the way she refused to utter a word none the less he continued.

"Take me back to when you pursued Ryun right after the Councilman here was shot." Archer said. He pulled out a notebook and a pen from his briefcase and shifted so that he could take notes more comfortably. Toph sighed and clutched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she thought.

"Flynn had arrived a few seconds after Sokka had been shot. I ordered him to take care of the Councilman while I pursued Ryun…" Archer cut her off.

"Why did you pursue Miss Beifong? If what the Councilman said earlier was true you were stripped of all clothing and weapons. You were basically rendered completely vulnerable, so why didn't you send your subordinate in pursuit of the criminal?" Archer said. Toph raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"I don't believe that I was ever in a position where I was vulnerable. However to answer your question I didn't order Commander Flynn to pursue because he isn't as capable at sensing the vibrations in the earth like I am. Flynn would have lost the old goat in a manner of seconds." Toph said. Archer scribbled something down on his notebook before asking another question.

"Now is that because you don't have faith in your highest ranking officer's ability or an over confidence in yours?" Archer countered. Toph turned her head up, accidently revealing part of her face.

"Neither, it was one of the many fast decisions we as police officers have to make in situations like that." Toph muttered. The lawyer nodded and with a long sigh asked her to continue tell him about that night. Sokka glanced over at Toph as she began speaking. He noticed that her hands shook and in an attempt to hide them she crossed her arms.

"Where was I again? Oh right. I managed to chase Ryun all the way to a cavern with a river below us. When I caught up to him, Ryun had backed up onto a ledge. I tried to talk him down, but I was barely able to get a sentence out before he jumped." She muttered. Archer took a few moments to finish taking notes before he addressed her.

"Did you try to use your earth bending to catch him?" Archer asked. Sokka raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Of course I did but I was a step too late." She murmured. He scribbled something else down. Sokka sat up a little straighter in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what he wrote. He didn't see anything and after finishing his notes Archer put his notebook inside his briefcase.

"Alright Miss Beifong I think I have everything I need. I'll meet you in front of City Hall tomorrow at noon sharp." Archer said. He gathered up his things said his goodbyes and left. Sokka and Toph sat there quietly for a few moments. Before either could say anything Captain Tadashi ran in.

"Chief…umm or is it chiefs?" Tadashi asked. Toph glared at him impatiently before sighing in irritation.

"Just spit it out Tadashi." She said. The Captain straightened up and began to report to both of them. Sokka turned towards her with an exasperated expression, but decided to let Tadashi finish before he reminded Toph that she didn't have the authority to order him around at the moment.

"The serial murder case that you were working on with the homicide division has finally turned up a witness, but he won't speak without a lawyer present." Tadashi murmured. Toph's face scrunched up in confusion. She turned her head away from Sokka to turn her gaze to Tadashi.

"He's a witness not a suspect. He isn't entitled to an attorney." Toph pointed out.

"I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn't listen." Tadashi said. She stood up to follow Tadashi to the murder room, but was stopped by Sokka.

"If you go down to that murder room you're in direct violation of the terms of your suspension." Sokka reminded her. Toph paused stomped her foot in aggravation and took a deep breath.

"Damn this stupid bloody inquiry. Alright if he wants an attorney we'll give him an attorney. Tell Detective Melanie to get in there she's the only one who could ever be convincing as a lawyer. Tell her to wrap it up quickly and get back to finding that son of a bitch." Toph said.

"Geez we lie so much it's a wonder people even talk to us anymore." Tadashi muttered. Sokka raised an eyebrow this was the first he ever heard of this. Toph on the other hand just laughed. Tadashi turned on his heel to carry out her orders, but Sokka cleared his throat as a sign she couldn't give orders either.

"Of course those are all just suggestions. Seeing as I'm on suspension you should defer to the temporary Chief of Police." Toph muttered with fake enthusiasm. Tadashi looked at her sympathetically and looked over at Sokka. When the councilman nodded the Captain began to walk out the door.

"Chief Beifong?" Tadashi called. He turned on his heel to look at the woman he deeply respected with a small smile. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow waiting for him to speak.

"Give them all hell." Tadashi said. Toph couldn't help but smirk at him and nod. Tadashi grinned and closed the door behind him.

…

Toph walked up the steps to Air Temple Island and went inside without bothering to knock on the door. She could tell by the vibrations that Katara, Aang and the kids were all in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. Katara had called the police station sometime after Archer had left to invite both her and Sokka to come have dinner with the family and Zuko. Of course they both agreed to be there. After deciding that there was nothing she could do at the station Toph decided to head out first.

"Auntie Toph!" Kya and Bumi roared. They ran away from Aang into her open arms for hugs and kisses. Toph couldn't help but laugh at Aang's relieved sigh for the extra help. She picked up both kids in her arms and walked over with both of them to where Aang was sitting.

"How are you feeling?" Katara asked. Aang excused himself to take the kids out into the backyard to play a little longer before dinner. Toph put the kids down and let them run after their father. She didn't follow and instead went over to grab a roll that was sitting on the counter in a basket. Before she could touch one Katara slapped her hand away with a wooden spoon.

"I'm feeling much better but I'm running into a bit of a problem. This baby is making me swell up to the size of a war balloon and I'm running out of clothes that fit." Toph admitted. Katara laughed very much familiar with such a problem. The earth bender glared at her friend causing Katara to bite down on her lip to conceal her fit of giggles.

"Not a problem. You're lucky though back when I was pregnant with Kya nothing fit after six weeks. As long as you don't mind that they're water tribe wear I have plenty of maternity clothes that I'm not going to use anymore. After dinner we can raid my closet and find ones that work for you." Katara offered.

"Really? Thanks Katara." Toph sighed. The water bender put a hand on Toph's arm sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it. So have you and Izu figured out what gender the baby is yet?" Katara asked. Toph put her foot down on the floor making sure that no one was around to hear. She didn't want to tell anyone yet until she was one hundred percent sure.

"Well while we're not completely sure, but we both think that it's going to be a girl." Toph said. Katara squealed with excitement nearly dropping the board of chopped vegetables in her hands.

"That's wonderful! Have you picked out a name?" Katara asked. Toph shook her head causing some stand of hair to escape her signature bun.

"Well I started thinking of names, but I just can't decide." Toph muttered. Katara opened her mouth to tell her how hard it was deciding on a names for Tenzin and how she and Aang had been up for hours arguing but stopped herself.

"Well what do you have so far?" Katara asked. Toph's eyes moved to the side as she pursed her lips and thought back to the names she had decided on.

"Well I've narrowed it down to four. Aiko, Liling, Jade or Lin." Toph muttered. Katara raised an eyebrow in surprise, she was half expecting Toph to use the first name she thought of. The water bender whistled a cheerful tune as she thought about the list of names.

"Oh those are all so good I can't decide either." Katara admitted. Toph laughed and took a roll out of the basket causing Katara to shake her head in disapproval.

"Of course they are I thought of them after all but you see my dilemma." Toph said. Before Katara could comment Toph held up a finger to her lips and pointed to the door. Both girls began to giggle as Zuko walked through the threshold.

"I missed the joke." He said. The Firelord reached to grab a roll, but Katara took the basket away from the two of them causing Toph to giggle even more.

"It's nothing at concerns you." Katara said. Zuko raised his hands in defense and didn't say another word about it. He went over and hugged Toph around the shoulders.

"So how is are present mommy to be? Still having problems sleeping?" Zuko asked. Toph elbowed him in the stomach making him laugh. Before she could answer Katara grabbed her hand and ordered Zuko to keep an eye on the stew while they waited for Sokka to show up.

The two women went upstairs to Katara and Aang's bedroom and went straight for the closet the two of them shared. For the next half hour Toph went through the process of trying on some of Katara's old maternity clothes. Toph picked out three outfits and two pairs of pajamas. However the peaceful atmosphere was ruined when Katara and Toph began to battle over whether or not she should take a sun dress that Katara thought Toph wore better than she ever did. However Toph wasn't interested in wearing dresses, all she wanted was clothes that would allow her to move around easily. After a few moments Aang heard the commotion and had to come upstairs in order to referee. Eventually though Toph was talked into giving in and taking the dress as well.

"I hate to interrupt the love fest, but the food is getting cold. I don't think Sokka is coming." Zuko muttered. Even from upstairs the four of them could hear the kids complaining about how they were starving already.

"I have to agree with Sparky. Even as a temporary Chief of Police it'll be hard for him to get away from the office easily." Toph pointed out. Katara sighed sadly and tugged at a strand of her hair as she thought about delaying their dinner a little longer.

"I'll make him a plate just in case." Katara muttered.

…

When Sokka finished going through each piece of paper it was well past midnight. Everyone on the day shift had gone home and the nightshift was here. Katara had called him earlier saying that after waiting for him for two and a half hours for him to come to dinner at Air Temple Island they ate without him and sent Toph on her way back to the apartment. He sat back and covered his eyes with the palms of his hand. A knock made him look up and smooth back his hair.

"Enter!" Sokka called. Lieutenant Berk, the highest ranking officer after Commander Flynn peeked his head in.

"Lieutenant, please come in and shut the door." Sokka said. The Lieutenant placed two cups of coffee on the stand next to the door before he closed it. He picked the cups back up and offered one to Sokka. He took it with a nod of thanks and took a big gulp. Other than Toph Lieutenant Berk was the only person in this entire station that Sokka trusted completely.

On his way to visit Toph at her metal bending school Sokka was attacked by a gang of bandits. He was surrounded and horribly outnumbered. Sokka was too far away from the school for Toph to know that he was in trouble. Shin, as he was known before he took the name Berk, came across the scene and helped Sokka fight off the bandits. The two became good friends especially after Toph took him in as one of her students. He was one of the few that Toph took with her when she entered the Police Force.

"Rumor has it that you demanded reports from every single division dating back for the last six months." Berk said. Sokka took another gulp of his coffee and nodded.

"The rumors are true. I have a nagging feeling that something is very wrong. No one will believe me so I'm looking for proof and I think I've found it." Sokka muttered. Berk held up a finger before he could start talking, the Lieutenant stood up locked the door and earth bent a gigantic slab of earth over the door. He turned back and shook his head wearily.

"The first thing you have to know if you're going to temporarily take over Toph's job is, be careful what you say. There are always prying ears here." Berk said. Sokka raised an eyebrow, sat forward, and put his elbows on the desk.

"Tell me what you know about Flynn?" Sokka asked. Berk who had been sipping his coffee began to choke on his drink when he heard Flynn's name. He took a few seconds to clear his throat before he sat back and began to explain.

"Well he kind of came with the Police Station. I remember Toph wasn't really happy that she couldn't review his record and decide for herself if he should stay or go. However I remember that she made damn sure that you or the Avatar didn't know about it when you were here. A few days into the transition the old Chief came to see her. They had a rather long conversation in this very office. When the old Chief left, Toph changed her tune. She began showing Flynn how to metal bend. When you weren't available Flynn was her first choice for a partner. At first I didn't think much about it not even when he was allowed to keep his rank of Commander, but the first red flag happened five years ago when Toph took a leave of absence to go to the South Pole with you. We arrested three gang members I don't remember from which gang I think it was one of the triads. Anyway we brought them in for booking when they saw Flynn they said something to him. The next day he let them go…What in the world are you doing?" Berk asked. Sokka was furiously scribbling away on a notepad while the lieutenant had been talking.

"I'm taking notes this is good stuff." He muttered. Berk rolled his eyes and kept going.

"If you look at his packet you'll see a decent sized number of complaints of excessive force with suspected criminals, but he has never even been slapped with so much as a demerit. When I asked Toph about it she was genuinely surprised, none of the complaints had ever been brought before her. The final red flag was…oh geez did Toph ever tell you about the explosion of a recently discovered human trafficking site?" Berk asked. Sokka snorted and shook his head.

"No she didn't have to I got letters from Zuko, Aang and even Katara. They were all so angry with her. I was angry with her myself for a little bit." Sokka said. Berk sighed and shook his head sadly. The councilman raised an eyebrow surprised by Berk's expression.

"It wasn't her that caused the explosion it was Flynn. I was one of the officers that was actually there when we staked out the trafficking sight. Toph was nowhere near those bombs she was with the women trying to get each one free and clear. I know this for a fact because I was with her at the time. Flynn was the one who was poking around and got himself discovered by the traffickers. The explosion, the deaths and now the amount of difficulty it takes to find these traffickers is his fault. However Toph covered for him and took the heat for it." Berk said. Sokka's eyes widened in horror and the pen slipped out of his hand.

"Why would she protect him like that?" Sokka demanded. Berk shrugged and finished off his coffee.

"I don't know Sokka, but if you think that he's the problem you have to find proof. Toph is not going to take anything less even from you. That's rule number two, don't ever make accusations without proof." Berk said. Sokka groaned and placed his head in his hands.

"Oh for spirit's sake!" He muttered. Berk stood up and walked over to the small coffee table that Toph had placed in her office because she didn't want it in her living room. On the polished surface was her space bracelet, her most prized memento. Berk picked it up, and placed it in front of Sokka.

"I'll investigate into the commander as discreetly as possible. I promise that I will bring my findings directly to you, so go home. Fix the furnace that Toph was muttering about, go eat something you're not doing anyone any good if you pass out from starvation." Berk muttered. Sokka lifted his head up and noticed the bracelet in front of him. He picked it up examined it with fond glint in his eye and put it in his pocket.

"Fine, but no one is to know a word about this. Am I clear?" he muttered. Berk nodded and let down the earth wall so that Sokka could go home.

…

Sokka handed the rest of his work to Berk and gave Flynn a large stack of busy work. He had to be at City Hall for the inquiry and Sokka was reluctant to give the Commander even the smallest speck of authority while he was away.

The Council decided that it would be best if Flynn and Toph had separate inquiries. While he wasn't completely sure Sokka figured that he had at least another week to investigate Flynn before his inquiry.

"Ugh I've already have a headache." He muttered. Sokka turned his face up to the sky and sighed. He trudged his way over to the City Hall. Normally the building was abuzz with people running all over the place but today it was deathly silent. He could hear his footsteps as he climbed up the steps to the assigned justice office. Silently Sokka was relieved that the inquiry was in an enclosed space and not a courtroom. He came to a stop when he saw Zuko and Aang waiting outside with rather cross expressions on their faces.

"What's going on here?" Sokka muttered. Aang turned to look at him and sighed.

"Only the judge, the District Attorney, Archer and Toph are allowed inside." He muttered. Sokka groaned and leaned against the wall next to Zuko to wait for news. Suddenly an idea crept into the back of his head.

"Hey Aang, do you think you could use your earth bending to make a discreet hole so we could listen in?" Sokka asked. Zuko lifted his head and turned toward Aang with a raised eyebrow. Aang looked at them both with outrage.

"That's unethical not to mention a complete violation of privacy…is here good?" Aang sighed. He pointed to a spot on the wall and took his stance. He managed to open a small hole about the size of a large coin. They could just barely see inside but the conversation was crystal clear.

"I ask that the last statement be stricken from the record seeing as it is speculation and not actual fact." Archer said. Sokka peered into the peephole to see the judge nod and look pointedly at DA Hobbs who looked rather embarrassed. Aang and Zuko pulled him back when they heard someone coming.

"While that may be true the question still stands. Is it possible that Chief Beifong orchestrated Ryun's death as revenge for his previous actions?" DA Hobbs said. Toph opened her mouth to answer but Archer stopped her.

"I object that question has no basis given the evidence that has been submitted by both parties. Unless DA Hobbs can provide solid evidence that my client acted in an unprofessional matter thus causing undue harm to a criminal under the jurisdiction of Republic City, I will not hesitate to countersue the city with charges of harassment." Archer said. Toph raised an eyebrow in surprise she was about to stop Archer from continuing but stopped herself. She had been focused on the inquiry that she wasn't paying attention to the goings on just outside the room. She uncrossed her legs and placed both feet down on the ground. At first she thought that they were under attack, but after a second the vibrations became familiar to her. Toph had to bite down on her lip hard to keep herself from showing the utter outrage she felt. How dare those two, she thought angrily.

Sokka was delighted to see that the judge and DA Hobbs looked horrified by the weasel faced lawyer's threats while Archer looked relatively relaxed. Before he could get too comfortable Zuko nudged Sokka out of the way so that he could peer inside too. The water tribesman pressed his face up against the wall to hear while Aang stood off to the side watching for anyone that might be coming.

"The question is so stricken…what was that." The judge was cut off by the sound of two painful sounding yelps. Archer glared pointedly at Toph whose facial expression betrayed nothing but indifference.

Outside Zuko and Sokka were clutching their eyes painfully while Aang frantically ushered them down the hall and around the corner in case someone came out to see what the noise was. When they were around the corner Aang knelt down to examine their eyes which were already swelling.

"Did you do that or did Toph?" Zuko hissed. Aang gave him an 'are you stupid look' before smacking his hand away to look at the eye that was already swelling closed.

"I didn't see. What happened?" Aang muttered. Zuko and Sokka leaned against the wall as the pain began to ebb.

"Someone, I'm assuming Toph, used their earth bending to reseal the hole and hit us both in the eye." Sokka muttered. Before Aang could say anything they saw Toph come around the corner.

"What the hell was that about?" She snapped.

"What are you doing outside?" Aang retorted. She rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger before taking a deep breath.

"The judge had us break for twenty minutes. Apparently Hobbs is either supposed to drop the charges when we come back or present hardcore evidence that I actually did something wrong." Toph muttered. Zuko and Sokka glared at her and she glared back.

"Can you blame us for being concerned?" Sokka glared.

"Yes I can. You three know better than that. I would have told you what happened there was no need for the spyhole!" She scolded them.

"No you would have given us the edited version." Sokka countered. She didn't bother to give that statement validation with a response. Instead she stormed away from them to go and grab some coffee.

The coffee stand was down to the right but Toph decided to go outside for some air. She sat down on the stone steps off to the side and just soak in the warmth of the sun.

…

Sokka ignored the odd looks he got when he came back to the station from City Hall. He went straight for his office and closed the door behind him with a long sigh. He didn't notice that there was someone else in the room with him.

"What happened to your eye? You look terrible." Berk asked. Sokka jumped and spun around hand on the hilt of his sword. The lieutenant held up his hands in a nonaggressive manner to show that he meant no harm. Sokka shook his head and took a seat in front of the desk.

"I'm assuming you're here for something important and not just to scare me to death. What's up?" Sokka asked. Berk pushed a large file in front of him without a word. Sokka looked at his friend suspiciously before opening the file to look at its content. With every word he read his heart sank miserably. When he got to the end Sokka fixed Berk with a hard stare.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Berk nodded earnestly making Sokka sigh wearily.

"How am I going to tell Toph?"


	8. Hello Goodbye

Aang felt his eyes beginning to cross as he reviewed another painfully long piece of legislation that had to be finished before the next council meeting. His hands were stained with ink as he crossed out paragraphs and made notes in the margins. He nearly knocked over his inkwell when a knock alerted him that he was no longer alone.

"You wanted to see me?" Toph asked.

Aang held up a finger and scribbled down something really quick before looking up at her. His immediate thought was that his former earth bending teacher had no problems making herself at home. She planted herself on the chair across from him and placed her feet up on the desk. Aang made a face before pushing her feet off with the tip of his pen. With a huff of irritation Toph placed her feet on the ground slumping down into her chair and crossing her arms.

"If I'm interrupting I can come back later." She offered.

Aang groaned. "I've been reading about water rights all day. An interruption is just what I need right now."

"Oh wow that sounds so difficult, it's almost like you're the Avatar or something." Toph muttered sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes. "Ah yes the Avatar, master of all four elements destined to bring balance to the world by reviewing water rights policies. Ugh what I wouldn't give to go back into that iceberg right now."

Former teacher and student shared a hearty laugh. When the laughter was reduced to a light chuckle Aang went hunting through his mess of papers for something in particular. When he couldn't find what he was looking for Aang frowned and tried to remember the last place he saw it. When Toph started to get irritated she heard a snap of fingers and the rustling of papers.

"Your letter of reinstatement as Police Chief. Officially as of this moment you are acquitted of all charges against you in the Ryun case. Congratulations." Aang said.

He double checked that the envelope he had was in fact Toph's reinstatement letter before holding it out to her. The earth bender leaned forward and took the letter with a triumphant smile. Toph turned the envelope over in her hands before tucking it away into her pocket.

"Thanks Aang." She said sincerely.

"Don't thank me just yet. Remember to tread carefully at work the internal affairs investigation is still ongoing you're still not in the clear." Aang warned her.

Toph sighed sadly and rubbed her temples. The internal investigation was just beginning to get underfoot. With Human Affairs agents walking in and pulling officers away from active investigations. Asking all sorts of questions. Tearing apart years of work, it was enough to make her dizzy.

"I remember. Oh before I forget. Katara wanted me to tell you that you need to be home on time. Poor Bumi he's hulled up in bed with a high fever. I'm supposed to send Sokka back to Air Temple Island if he isn't busy." Toph muttered.

"If I see him I'll pass the message along." Aang said. He made a face when Toph responded by snorting.

"Where would you see him? I doubt he's hiding that stack of papers." She said sardonically.

She didn't give him a chance to respond. Instead the young earth bender waved and walked out of the office. Toph sent out several vibrations in an attempt to find a certain fire bending King. She found him in his office but what surprised her was that instead of the usual clutter she could sense boxes piled on top of boxes scattered all around the room. Zuko seemed to be running around back and forth packing various items. Reluctantly Toph waddled up to the next floor with a hand on her swollen belly. As she got further and further along in her pregnancy Toph couldn't help but feel like a penguin. When she got to the top of the stairs the baby began to kick disrupting her vision.

"Would you settle down?" Toph asked. She didn't really mean it but the difficulty to see drove the expecting mother to insanity. Afraid to move and accidently slam into something or worse someone Toph gripped the stair railing and slid to the side out of anyone's way until the kicking settled down.

About five minutes passed before Toph could safely move from the railing down the hall to Zuko's office. In that amount of time she discovered that he began moving boxes from the office into the hall. Toph raised her hand to knock on the door only to have it open before her hand could even come down on the wood.

"Hey." Zuko said lamely.

Toph raised an eyebrow but smiled. "So did they finally get you a real office?"

"Nope it's that time of the year again. I've been away from the Fire Nation and Izumi too long." He said.

Although she knew that this day was coming as it did every year Toph was still reluctant to see another one of her friends go. She clasped her hands behind her back to hide that she dug her nails into her palm to stop herself from showing any visible distress. Zuko shifted the box in his hands to get a better grip on it causing Toph to move out of the way so he could set it on top of another stack of boxes.

"Do you need a hand?" She asked. The Firelord glanced over at his friend and shook his head.

"Didn't Katara tell you that you can't lift anything too heavy?" He reminded her. Before she could respond Zuko continued. "Besides you should probably find Sokka and catch up on the work he's been doing. A few days ago he asked me to let him into the vault."

Toph blinked in shock. The vault was a room in City Hall that could only be accessed by either Zuko, Aang or herself. Every single classified file that had to do with the United Forces, Police Force, and Council was in there. All their files were there.

"Did he specify for what reason? I'm pretty sure I left enough paper work to keep him busy for at least a month." Toph muttered.

Zuko straightened up dusting his hands off as he did. "No he just called in a favor."

"And you let him into a top secret vault, which requires high security clearance because he called in a favor?" Toph asked incredulously.

"This is Sokka we're talking about here. For whatever reason I figured he had good intensions." Zuko defended.

Toph pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. In an attempt to calm herself she counted back from ten. When she didn't want to earth bend the Firelord into the nearest wall Toph racked her brain for any clue of what Sokka could have been searching for. Nothing immediately came to mind which didn't reassure her. On the contrary not knowing made Toph's hair stand on end. There were files in that vault, cases, and evidence that she never wanted Sokka to see under any circumstances.

"You're right I'd best go talk to him." Toph muttered.

Zuko sighed. "Last I heard he was at the station."

"Thanks." Toph said absently. She started to walk away but then remembered why she was there in the first place. "When are you leaving?"

"Three days from now." He said.

Toph scratched the back of her neck nervously. "Umm in case I don't see you until you have to go, I wanted to say thank you. Without all your help I would still be suspended."

"You would have done the same for me. You have done the same for me now that I think about it." Zuko said. There was a momentary awkward pause between them. Toph turned to go to the station but at the same time Zuko tried to hug her. The pair collided with each other at an odd angle Zuko accidently ramming his chin into Toph's forehead. She flinched when Toph felt her elbow smash into Zuko's stomach unintentionally. After bumping into each other two more times the pair settled for awkwardly patting the other on the shoulder.

Toph walked into the station with a small smile plastered on her face. Coming back to the Police Station reinstated as Chief was almost like coming home. A few officers went up to congratulate her on coming back, but the feeling vanished when she reached her office. Out on one of the desks reading through a stack of papers was Flynn.

"Hey what are you working on?" Toph asked curiously. The commander sighed in irritation as he put down the paper he was looking on.

"Busy work. I don't know if it's some misguided vendetta or what but the temporary chief of police has been giving me nothing but paper work." Flynn muttered.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Go talk to Berk I want you back on the terror triad case. I ran into Melanie and she told me how things have done to hell. They need more man power."

She didn't have to repeat herself. Flynn took off so quickly it was as if someone had lit a fire under his shoes. Toph snorted when she heard several surprised shouts and angry warnings for Flynn to slow down. With a sigh she walked into her office.

Sokka and Berk were huddled around her desk whispering furiously over something. When Toph entered she could tell by their vibrations that both of them scrambled to hide whatever it was that they were working on.

Toph attempted to glare at them suspiciously. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing." Berk said quickly. When Toph's eyes narrowed both of them began to shuffle around guiltily. She tried to intimidate them particularly the Lieutenant but neither appeared to budge a centimeter. With an irritated growl Toph threw open the door.

"Berk, I need you with Tadashi on patrols. We still don't know how those triads are slipping through our nets." Toph ordered. She raised an eyebrow when the Lieutenant had the gall to glance over at Sokka first before doing as she asked. Berk turned to say something but before he could utter a sound Toph slammed the door in his face.

"Was that really…" Toph cut Sokka off by raising a hand.

"No more dodging the question. What the hell is going on? You're reviewing cases as far as a year back. Now I have to find out from Zuko that you went into the vault. Is there something going on that you're not telling me?" She ground out.

Sokka rubbed his temples before motioning for Toph to take a seat.

"We need to talk."


	9. Chapter Nine

From the way Toph was looking at him, Sokka felt like he was the one on trial. In the back of his mind he wondered if that was the same look she used on criminals.   
“If it is than it’s no mystery how the crime rate has plummeted since she took office.” He thought to himself. Sokka pretended to organize the stack of papers in front of him. Toph slumped back in her chair, crossed her arms and glared at him with her nose scrunched up. Over the years Sokka took that as a signal that she was restraining herself from doing something violent.   
Sokka sighed before beginning. “There is something you need to understand first because it’s important, this is nothing against you…”   
“Stop trying to pacify me and just get on with it.” She growled.   
Sokka held up his hands in defense as he sat down across from her. There was a knock on the door but Toph was having none of it. She snarled at whoever it was to come back later. Sokka managed to restrain himself from wincing.   
He bit down on his lip as he racked his brain on a starting point. “When you let me read over the reports on the Ryun case something just wasn’t adding up. Flynn knew you were going to investigate the case dressed as a civilian, he should have given the patrols in the area notice. They would have posted officers nearby to prevent what happened.”   
Sokka glanced at Toph but she didn’t say anything instead she simply raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue. “To put my nerves at ease when I was made temporary chief of police I asked for all case reports for the past year from each department. The deeper I looked into each case that was handled by Flynn the more…discrepancies I found.”   
He captured her attention. Toph straightened up and placed her arms on the table. “Such as?”   
Sokka took out the stack of cases that Flynn had handled and began to read them off. Toph didn’t seem to object instead she listened to him until he was finished. “In each case something either went missing, was rendered inadmissible in court, or was ‘accidently’ destroyed.”   
“All coincidental evidence and easily accessed through the station’s records. What did you pull from the vault?” Toph asked.   
He placed the red file in front of her with a guilty expression. “When Berk told me what he knew about Flynn I decided to pull his file from the station’s records, but I was told it was classified. So I called in a favor with Zuko and took the file when his back was turned.”   
“And what did you find?” She prompted.   
“That his father was a Dai Li agent that served under Azula in the Hundred Year war. Even after they were ordered to stand down he continued to support her attempts to place Azula on the throne for that was decreed a war criminal.” Sokka reported carefully. He closed his eyes and waited for the explosion and for Flynn to lose his job.   
When no explosion came Sokka opened one eye. Than the other one. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when Toph didn’t look all that surprised at the news. Her face betrayed nothing and for once Sokka was at a complete loss. He reached over to touch her hand until Toph began to shake her head. Hesitantly he retracted his hand and then let it flop uselessly on the table as she began to laugh without a trace of humor.   
When she finished Toph glared at him. “So because of the crimes his father committed, Flynn is guilty by association?”   
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Sokka snapped. “His actions don’t exactly clear Flynn of suspicion!”   
“That’s extremely narrow minded for someone whose best friends with the current Firelord.” Toph snapped. Sokka slammed his hands on the wood of the desk and stood up outraged by that statement.   
“Stop trying to turn me into the bad guy!” He demanded. She stood up placed her hands on the table and leaned forward until they were nose to nose.   
“Why not, when you’re trying to do the same thing to one of my most trusted officers.” Toph snapped. Before Sokka could fire back a retort she continued. “Did you honestly think I didn’t already know about Flynn’s father? Geez if you had bothered to talk to me you would have known that the matter is one of record between the former Chief, Flynn and myself. As for those so called ‘discrepancies’ I already knew about those too. The missing evidence as you read in the reports wasn’t required for the trials or in those cases a confession was extracted from culprit. But the evidence that went missing did involve Flynn’s father and would have been used to destroy his career.”   
As though to prove it Toph stomped over to the wall just behind her desk and slammed her fist into the stone. With a groan a small panel moved back revealing a hollowed out compartment. She pulled the only file among the knickknacks that rested inside the hidden area before closing the wall again. Toph tossed it at him.   
“It’s all there.” She muttered. Toph didn’t raise her voice, she didn’t have to. Sokka could feel her infuriation in every word.   
Feeling like the worst person in the world Sokka picked it up and began reading the documents. True to her word everything to vindicate Flynn was all there. He winced at her infuriated expression. “I don’t know what to say.”  
“Well that’s a first.” She snapped. “Congratulations on proving that you don’t trust me. Stay out of my life.”   
Before Sokka could try to apologize or defend himself Flynn walked into the office. The commander paid him no mind and looked straight at Toph. “There’s been a robbery at a jewelry store. We have them surrounded but the bastards have hostages, it’s an all hands on deck situation Chief.”   
“How much man power do we have?” she asked. Toph grabbed her coat and shrugged it on grabbing her badge that lay on the desk, all the while squeezing every last detail out of her commander. Used to the interrogation Flynn answered each question without hesitation.   
“Alright send word to the hospital I want healers on hand prepared for the worst. When you’ve done that get word to Tadashi I want a perimeter set two blocks back to keep those bastards from escaping.” She ordered. With a grunt of understanding Flynn raced off to carry out her orders.   
When Sokka started to follow Toph held up a hand to stop him. She strapped on her tool belt before turning back to him. “Don’t even bother you’ll only get in the way.”   
“There was a time you used to value me getting in the way.” He pointed out.   
Toph balled her hands into fists before turning away from him so that Sokka couldn’t see tears welling up in her eyes. “That was before you did all this behind my back. In this job trust is vital. If you can’t trust me enough to talk about it to me about your suspicions you’re going to get someone killed. As chief of police I can’t allow that to happen. From this point on you have no standing other than that of Councilmen, here at the station.”   
Unable to keep herself from crying for another second Toph walked out the door slamming it behind her.


	10. A Painful Duty

Toph didn’t have to flash her badge as she walked up to the front of the jewelry store. It was some small consolation to her. If she had to bully her way up to the command tent like she had to do before Toph was certain that she would have hit someone. She pushed aside the tent flap where the Crisis Negotiation Unit was located.

            It was a new style that had been instigated by the former Chief of police. When she saw how effective Unit was during times like this Toph made the case to the Council to keep funding them. Off in a corner negotiating for the release of one of the hostages was a man talking into a communicator that Sokka invented. Standing around a table was Flynn, Berk and two Unit captains.

            “Talk to me. What’s going on so far?” Toph prompted.

            It was Flynn who answered her. “Unit has managed to negotiate the release of one hostage in exchange that we turn the heater back on…”

            “What moron turned off the heater? I thought we had already established in previous cases that until the hostages are secure no one touches the building.” She asked slightly outraged. Flynn looked down at his hands while the other officers pretended that they hadn’t heard the question. Unimpressed by the reactions Toph raised an eyebrow. She made a circular motion with her hand a silent signal that they didn’t have time for their stalling.

            Reluctantly Berk answered. “Councilman Sokka reviewed all procedures implemented in Crisis Negotiation situations and decided that our tactics were too lax. He ordered that in future proceedings we cut the power.”

            Toph counted back from ten. Several angry curses ran through her mind before she felt calm enough to respond. “In the future any of Councilman Sokka’s orders will be brought to me first before they are implemented. How many hostages are still inside?”

            “Three Chief Beifong.” Berk muttered. “If I may, Councilman Sokka had good intensions…” She cut him off with a raise of her palm.

            “You may not…” Toph gasped in pain and put a hand on her stomach. Flynn and Berk started towards her but she stopped them. “Don’t fuss, the baby is just kicking too hard.”

            “Maybe you should go get some rest Chief.” Flynn suggested. She glared at him but didn’t say anything. Toph bit down on her lip when another sharp pain consumed her attention. In an attempt to steady herself she gripped the table. The officers in the room looked at each other uncertainly, but with a stubborn huff Toph straightened up.

“I don’t want to rest. I want to know what’s going on.” She snapped.

 After a moment of panic the young earth bender pushed aside the pain and tried to focus on the situation at hand. Toph had to use a little more force than normal but she managed to get a general idea of the situation inside the jewelry store.

            “Let’s go over this one more time the hostages are hulled up in the back room with one guard. The rest are in the vaults stuffing their pockets. While Unit continued to negotiate for the hostages. I want you and Berk to sneak in and free the hostages. When they’re free and clear you two are to send a signal and the officers will storm and capture all the culprits.” Toph murmured.

            She heard several sounds of agreement. The young earth bender raised an eyebrow when she heard the nervous shuffling of feet to her left. Toph turned her head in that direction so that she could address Flynn directly.

            “Yes Commander?” She prompted.

            “Can I speak with you privately Chief?” Flynn retorted.

            Toph shook her head. “Not just now. Save it for when we finish this case.”

            Flynn reluctantly agreed. Together with Berk the two of them slipped quietly into the shadows. When they were out of sight the captain of Unit told Toph so she could follow them with her sight.

            With share pains starting to become more frequent and painful it was becoming increasingly more difficult for Toph to keep an eye on what was going on. In an attempt to work through the pain and concentrate on the task at hand she bit down hard on the side of her cheek and readjusted her stance to keep a better eye on her officers.

            “They’ve reached the back door.” She muttered to the captain. Toph heard him grunt in acknowledgement before giving his subordinate instructions to distract the robbers while Flynn and Berk were inside. She took a deep breath as a large wave of pain overtook her. For a brief moment Toph lost all sight of anything and she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

            She clenched her teeth and forced herself to focus on the vibrations around her. Toph ignored the worried murmurs and reported what she saw to the captain standing beside her. In the back of her mind she wished that Sokka was here to hold her hand to give her a focus point. He often did so when she was in situations where it was difficult for her to see. From sheer will she pushed aside those thoughts.

            “Captain they severed the line on me! They know!” the officer yelled.

            Toph’s eye’s widened in horror. Flynn and Berk had only just managed to knock out the guard. However from the furry of vibrations that were coming from the vault she could tell the robbers would soon reach them to start killing off hostages.

            “Change of plans. We move in now!” Toph ordered.

            Before the Unit Captain could argue with her. All officers on hand began to swarm inside the jewelry store, Toph included. As soon as they entered the building the robber’s attention was drawn away from the back room where the hostages, Flynn and Berk were in still. Instead they fired on the officers that had entered.

            With a reaction that appeared almost rehearsed Toph raised a wall of earth to block their attacks. Her officers fanned out behind her and began to go on the offensive. Toph felt the vibrations from the back room begin to move. As the last person to leave the room Flynn slammed his foot into the ground three times a sign that the hostages were clear. With a small triumphant smile Toph motioned for her officers to subdue their opponents.

            Unable to concentrate on the aftermath of the arrests Toph handed off her duties to Flynn, who thankfully didn’t comment. She staggered into the tent accidently running into Berk as she did. With a stream profanities coming from his mouth Berk caught her and steered her to a chair. Toph glared at him but didn’t say anything as the sharp pain overtook her.

            “Chief, I think you’re going into labor.” Berk muttered.

            “Not possible.” She groaned. “Still too early.”

            Toph loosened her grip on Berk’s hand as she began to lose consciousness. Alarmed Berk roared for everyone to clear the room and a healer be sent in.

…

            Toph’s small living room was packed as her friends waited for news of her and the baby. However the most distraught of them all was Sokka. The water tribesman paced anxiously that no one dared to approach him. The occupants in the room were also uncomfortable to the tension that was between Flynn and Sokka who glared daggers at each other every time their eyes met. Aang tried to ignore the spectacle as he kept watch on the door leading to Toph’s room.

            The entire apartment stilled as the door to Toph’s room opened. Looking exhausted Izu walked out closing the door firmly behind her. The old woman’s eyes widened in alarm when suddenly the hallway was filled with anxious onlookers.

            She waved them away from her as she spoke. “Honestly from the way you’re all acting it’s no wonder the poor girl doesn’t want to see anyone.”

            “How is she? Is the baby alright?” Aang asked. The plea in his voice stopped Izu from forcing her way to the front of the door. She glared at the curious onlookers before turning back to the Avatar.

            “She needs quiet and rest. That is all I am willing to say on the matter. If Toph herself wishes to tell you more on the matter than that is up to her.” Izu said firmly. The hall parted to give the old woman enough room to exit. When the door closed behind her Aang decided to take control of the situation.

            “Alright everyone you heard what Izu said. Toph needs rest, so out.” He ordered. The Avatar began to herd everyone out promising that he would send word if anything changed. All but two left asking Aang to give Toph their well wishes. When he closed the doors Aang sighed as he turned back to face Flynn and Sokka.

            “Flynn be reasonable, Toph needs you at the Station not here.” Aang pointed out. The commander looked down at the glare at the floor torn between staying, or going back to the station. After a moment Flynn nodded his agreement and turned on his heel to leave.

            Aang turned to Sokka and scratched the back of his neck uncertainly. With a long sigh the Avatar began to speak. “Sokka…”

            “I won’t bother her.” Sokka muttered. “Go on home Aang, I’ll stay and give Katara a ride back.”

            Aang was about to open his mouth to say no but the door to Toph’s room opened again. Katara stepped out causing both of them to stiffen in alarm. The water bending master glared at them both before sighing in exhaustion.

            “Toph wants to see you.” Katara muttered. Before Sokka could barge in she put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Before you go in there I need to warn you. Under no circumstances are you to upset, argue or do anything to cause her extra stress.”

            Sokka nodded and went inside to see his best friend.      


	11. Getting Closer

Hi everyone! I want to start out this post by apologizing for being late. In my defense an appendicitis is a real hindrance to the writing process. Second I truly from the bottom of my heart for all the support and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. 

Azula flipped through the pages of her book with a disinterested sigh. For a hospital that was considered one of the best in the Fire Nation they sure need to update their reading material, in her opinion. She tossed the book away when she heard a brick slide out of place over by the side of the wall across from her.   
Careful not to attract the attention of the orderlies outside the door Azula crept over to the wall coming face to face with the only person on this earth she trusted.   
“What news from the outside world, Hyousuke?” She asked eagerly.  
He smiled at her raising Azula’s hopes for good news. “My spies report that the earth bender has been taken care of. We are amassing in Republic city to take out the water tribe siblings. All I need is your agreement.”   
“Excellent.” Azula glanced behind her when she heard a knock on her door. Her eyes widened in alarm but she turned back to her friend quickly. “Take care of them. Be careful the next time you come back. I’m sure they’re already suspicious of me.”   
Hyousuke didn’t say anything more as he sealed off the hole allowing Azula to deal with the orderlies outside the door.   
…  
The room was dark with the exception of the lamp that had been lit by the bed side. Although it took his eyes a moment to adjust Sokka could see Toph clearly. She looked so pale and frail as she rested against the wall. Her hair had been taken down from its usual bun and now hung limply around her.   
He jumped in surprise when she spoke. “I look that bad?”   
“Nah.” Sokka tried to reassure her as he took a seat in the chair next to her bed. “I’ve seen worse.”   
Toph snorted and turned her face away from him causing her hair to create a barrier between them. “I can tell your lying.”   
Sokka reached toward her but then stopped himself as he recalled their last encounter. He let his hand drop against his leg. He leaned forward bracing his elbows on his legs as the Water Tribesman thought how best to broach the million questions he had.   
“You just scared me.” He admitted. “When I got word I thought my heart was going to stop.”   
Toph blew her bangs out of her face as she absorbed that piece of information. She could tell that he was telling the truth this time. “I’m sorry.”   
“Don’t be sorry, I’m just glad you’re both alright.” He muttered. Sokka tensed as he asked the question that was weighing on his mind. “You are ok, right?”   
She held out her hand to him, causing Sokka to raise an eyebrow. Silently, he took her hand in his. Toph guided their joined hands to rest over the top of her growing belly. When he felt the baby start to kick Sokka flopped forward in relief.   
“Thank the spirits for that.” He sighed. He turned his head up to look at his friend and tried not to smile too much as Toph began to trace patterns on his forehead. “So are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you?”   
“Apparently it was low blood sugar that caused me to pass out and the pain was from Braxton Hicks.” Toph muttered nonchalantly. Sokka furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but he didn’t dare move. He found that her touch was soothing to him.   
“Braxton Hicks?” He prompted.   
Toph shrugged. “They’re contractions. Katara told me it’s the body’s way of preparing for the delivery.”   
“That’s good right?” Sokka asked. “It means everything is normal. Although when Katara was pregnant I don’t remember her having any fainting spells.”   
Sokka realized that was the wrong thing to say when Toph took her hand away to massage her temples. He sat up straight and waited for her to elaborate. However she didn’t try to explain. Instead Toph sat back against the headrest and placed both hands on her stomach. On occasion she twitched from the baby kicking too hard.   
“I didn’t faint.” She said after a moment. When Sokka made a skeptic noise, Toph groaned in irritation. She began to twist a strand of hair between her fingers as she thought. “I can’t even pronounce the name of whatever condition Izu and Katara diagnosed me with.”   
She made a face in an attempt to recall what Katara explained to her. “Preeclampsia I think, but don’t quote me on it. The summary of it is that I have high blood pressure and if I’m not careful I could end up seriously hurting myself or the baby.”   
Suddenly a look of realization came over Sokka’s face. “That would explain why Katara told me not to stress you.”   
“No stress, lots of water, bed rest, and no red meat under any circumstances.” She confirmed. To lighten the situation Sokka pretended to gasp in horror at the last part. For once he felt a sense of relief when Toph whacked him on the shoulder. They both laughed before Sokka spotted a large bottle of water on the nightstand right next to the lamp. He took it and frowned when he saw it was filled practically to the brim.   
Sokka shook his head as he handed the bottle to her. “What are you going to do about work? It’s not exactly a stress free environment.”   
“I fought so hard to get reinstated that I don’t really want to think about it.” She sighed. Toph took a sip of water before continuing. “When I got back on the beat it was great. Almost like I had some sort of purpose again.” She could feel Sokka radiating his disapproval. Toph raised a hand to keep him from interrupting her before she continued. “Still I’m not completely unreasonable. I don’t have much of a choice tomorrow I’ll talk with Flynn to see if we can coordinate until I can fulfil my obligations as Chief of Police.”   
Sokka sighed and nodded in agreement. “About what happened in your office…”   
She stopped him by placing two fingers over his mouth. “We’re cool Sokka. As friends we’ll always been cool.”  
“As partners?” He prompted.   
Toph made a face. “Don’t push it. I’m not mad…anymore. Still what you did was completely unprofessional.”   
“Alright I won’t push.” He put his hands up and stood up to go. “I’ll let you get some sleep.”   
As he turned away from the earth bender Sokka felt a hand grab onto the back of his shirt. He spun around with raised eyebrows. Although the room was still very dim Sokka could have sworn that his best friend was blushing.   
“Would you stay?” Toph mumbled. Sokka had to strain to hear her as she spoke. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”   
‘This girl is going to be the death of me’ Sokka thought. Still unable to deny her anything at this point he sat down on the edge of her bed and began unlacing his boots. When he managed to kick them off he turned back to Toph.   
“Scoot over.” He ordered. Toph gave him a look but began to scoot away from him. Sokka pulled back the covers and climbed in with her. He lifted his arm so that she could settle herself more comfortably beside him.   
The pair were so absorbed in themselves that neither noticed the sound of the front door unlatching.


	12. Intruder

Toph woke up to the sound of Sokka’s snoring in her ear. She tried to roll onto her side to get away from the sound directly in her ear. When she settled herself onto a comfortable spot on her side the baby started kicking. She tried shifting onto her back but the baby kept kicking her until she settled her stomach against Sokka’s back. He grumbled and shifted a little before opening his eyes.  
“What’s wrong?” He yawned.   
Toph shrugged. “Nothing go back to sleep. I’m going to go make myself a sandwich.”   
He tried to stop her and pull Toph back into bed but she was having none of it. Toph smacked his hands away and turned to put her feet on the ground. The moment her feet touched the ground she knew that something was wrong. With the baby kicking in protest she couldn’t see exactly who was in the apartment but she was sure that someone was in the apartment.  
“Sokka.” She hissed. Her only response was a groan and a mumbled ‘go back to sleep’. If the situation had been different Toph would have rolled her eyes. Instead she shook him on the shoulders causing him to groan and sit up. When she had Sokka’s undivided attention Toph hissed. “Sokka, someone is in the apartment.”   
That got his attention. Sokka bolted off of the bed and began blindly searching for his weapons. Toph rubbed her belly in an attempt to stop the baby from kicking so that she could get a better picture of who was in the apartment to no avail. When Sokka found his club and boomerang he walked toward the door to confront the danger. Toph followed just behind him for back up but Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.   
“No, you’d risk hurting the baby. Stay here, bolt the door and don’t come out before I say.” He whispered.   
Toph placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You cannot be serious.”   
“I am entirely serious.” He muttered. Although Toph couldn’t see him Sokka was glaring at her at the same time he had his ear pressed to the door in an attempt to listen to the intruder. She frowned and muttered several profanities under her breath realizing that Sokka was right. Toph blushed when she felt his hand cup the back of her head.   
Gently Sokka kissed her on the forehead and whispered. “I’ll be back soon.”  
Sokka heard rustling around in the living room. The lights weren’t on so he figured that it was some sort of burglar. He raised his club high in defense and rushed in to ambush the intruder. When he turned the corner Sokka rolled his eyes and dropped his club down against his side.   
“Katara, what are you doing here?” He snapped. The water bending master jumped at being caught red handed. Sokka rolled his eyes and sighed. “You scared the living daylights out of Toph and me.”  
Katara sighed and placed a hand over her heart. “I scared you, you scared me. Tenzin dropped his stuffed animal here and I came to get it. When I saw that the lights were off I figured that Toph was asleep and I didn’t want to wake her. She gave me the spare key so I let myself in.”   
Sokka sighed and brushed back his hair from his eyes. Katara raised an eyebrow at his state of undress and shook her head. “Am I interrupting something?”   
“Alright you can go now.” He said dryly. Sokka tried to force her out of the door, but Katara planted her feet. He let her go with a long sigh and crossed his arms and started looking around the room for the stuffed animal. He spotted it on the mantle and walked over to hand it to her.  
Before he could Sokka heard the sound of a window shattering from Toph’s bedroom. Brother and Sister looked at each other in horror. They ran into the bedroom only to find it in a state of upheaval. Furniture was everywhere the walls were torn apart and in the middle of it stood Toph and Berk in the middle of hand to hand combat.   
“What is going on here?” Sokka roared.   
Toph dodged the bit of wall Berk launched at her. She ignored Sokka and summoned a suit of armor made entirely out of rock. She started for her subordinate but stepped back when Sokka beat her to the punch. Dodging several boulders along the way the water tribesman brought his club down for Berk’s head. Sokka swore under his breath when he didn’t hit anything.   
“Sokka get down!” Katara said. He didn’t second guess his sister’s bellow Sokka hit the floor with a thump. Ice flew over his head freezing Berk in place.   
…  
At the station Flynn took the trio’s statements and went to work finding out what had caused Berk to fly off the rails like that. After Katara had managed to subdue Berk’s attack he suddenly went unconscious. At first Sokka was sure that Katara had blood bended him into unconsciousness but quickly dismissed the idea when he realized it wasn’t a full moon. He wanted to wait at the station for answers but when Aang came to get Katara he realized that it was probably best if he took Toph home. Sokka went to look for her after he said goodbye to his sister. He didn’t have to look far. Toph was with her secretary going over the paper work for the next week.   
“With the baby due any day now and with these new restrictions I’m being placed under it will be difficult to get into the station. For the time being until I can return to work take care of the paper work as if I was still here. Flynn is in charge. Call if there is something that needs my attention.” She muttered. Sokka knocked the on the threshold of the door drawing their attention to him.   
“Whenever you’re ready I’ll take you back to the apartment.” He announced.   
Toph yawned and handed her secretary a gigantic stack of papers. With a nod of goodnight to the both of them the secretary left them alone to continue working. The earth bender motioned for Sokka to take a seat.   
“I just got a call from Izu.” Toph said Sokka straightened up and waited for her to continue. “She saw the damage done to the apartment and nearly had a heart attack. Long story short she wants us gone by the end of the week.”   
Sokka’s eyes widened in surprise. “Hold on a second she’s evicting us? So close to the baby being born?”   
“Yes the foundation can’t stand all the earth bending.” She sighed. Toph soothed her hair back and shook her head. “I hate to do this but I don’t have much choice. You’ll have to move back with Aang and Katara. I’ll have to go looking for another place within my price range first thing in the morning…why are you shaking your head at me?”   
He placed his hands over hers. “Well we knew from the beginning that with your tiny two bedroom apartment my staying was never a permanent arrangement. With everything that’s been going on I’ve been looking for houses that are nearby. A few months back I found one that I liked and I bought it…”   
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Toph exclaimed.   
He rubbed the back of his neck. “With everything going on I didn’t really want to say anything until I had to.”   
“Well that’s good.” Toph muttered with a nod. “At least I know that you’re taken care of. Still I doubt you want a newborn in your house…”  
“Toph, I’m not gonna leave you to raise a newborn by yourself.” He said firmly. Toph looked away from him and let out a frustrated huff. She ran her hands through her hair before she turned her gaze in his general direction.   
Finally after several moments she spoke again. “Why? I just don’t understand why you’re going through all these lengths just for me. Kanto didn’t want anything to do with me or the baby and he’s the father.”   
Sokka stood up and began to pace. Something he only ever did when he was extremely frustrated. “Does it really mater Toph? I want to be involved that’s the end of it.”   
Unable to accept that answer Toph got up and blocked his path. She put her hands on his arms to stop him from pacing. With a long sigh Sokka looked her in the eye and waited for her to speak. “That is not the end of it. I feel like I’m missing something important. Please we’re supposed to be best friends why can’t you tell me?”   
Sokka shook her for good measure. “Because I’m in love with you!”


	13. Chapter 13

Sokka let go of Toph’s shoulders and took a step back. He found a spot on the floor and focused on it like his life depended on it. Toph on the other hand turned completely red and tried to hide it under her bangs. The silence was maddening to both individuals.   
When Toph’s patience began to run thin she sighed and blew her bangs out of her face. She gathered up her courage and began to speak. “Sokka I…oh for the love of all things holy!”   
Before Sokka could ask for clarification the Chief of Police held up a finger motioning for him to wait. Toph turned around and opened the door revealing her secretary on the other side her hand up about to knock. “I’m sorry to interrupt Chief but Commander Flynn requested your help on that floor.”   
“Do you know if it’s the kind of help that can wait for a few minutes?” Toph prompted.  
The secretary sighed. “He told me to tell you. The red flower sleeps, noon is on the rise. I have no idea what that means.”   
“That’s ok I do. I’ll be there in a second.” Toph sighed. She swept back her bangs and groaned. She turned her head in Sokka’s general direction to look at him apologetically. “I’m sorry I have to go.”   
She didn’t give him a chance to say anything or respond. With those words Toph ran out of her office closing the door behind her. When Sokka finally got ahold of his initial shock he spoke to the door. “Oh sure go on save the world. I’ll just wait here.”   
…  
“I have the right to speak with my union rep!” Berk roared. Across from the traitor Flynn rubbed his temples in an attempt to sooth the headache that was beginning to torment the Commander.   
When Berk continued to roar the same thing over and over again for five minutes Flynn lost his patients. “Would you shut up? It’s like talking to a three year old.”   
The cell that held the earth bender was made completely out of wood. The entire floor was made out of wood and the second highest in the entire building for extra security. When the station underwent renovations Toph reluctantly agreed to have several installed. To make sure no earth bender could escape the cells Flynn and Toph had both agreed to spend 24 hours locked in individual cells to try and escape.   
Flynn smiled to himself when he recalled that night. He hid his amusement behind the case file and began to familiarize himself with the crime scene. He began pacing back and forth and ignored Berk’s rantings. When Flynn began tapping his foot Berk slammed his fists against the bars.   
The Commander glanced over at Berk before speaking. “Look we’ve been friends a long time. You were a valued…”  
“Don’t give me that crap about being a valued member of the Police force.” Berk snarled. He turned his back on the Commander and slid down onto the floor. “We all know that’s a lie.”   
Flynn closed the case file and rolled his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? You helped train every officer in this joint. Watched out for all of us. Toph and I trusted you more than anyone!”   
“Than why wasn’t I made Commander?” Berk roared. “I deserve to be Chief of Police but I can’t do that when I’m stuck training the guy that’s gonna take over my job one day!”   
Flynn put down the case file to knock some sense into the traitor when he heard her. Toph heard them bickering and rolled her eyes. “Alright enough!”   
“Sorry Chief.” Both said shamefaced.  
Toph glanced behind her to make sure no one else was on this floor before she closed the door behind her and walked toward the cell at the end of the hall. “Go ahead and drop the act there isn’t anyone on this floor other than us. Seriously Berk? A power grab, you couldn’t have come up with a more creative reason for betraying your amazing boss?”   
“Amazing in a bit of an overstatement Toph. Joking aside I was on the spot and had to think fast.” Berk muttered. When she came into the light he raised an eyebrow. “You ok Chief? Your face is all red.”  
He backed away from the cell when the Commander slammed the case file against the bars for being so tactless. The prisoner shrugged and took it back with a mumble. Flynn stepped aside when Toph motioned for him to move. When she and Berk were across from each other she spoke. “What made you blow your cover like that? The plan was in place we were all set to bust Azula and her followers for good.”   
“Sorry boss, but I had to prove my loyalty to the followers.” Berk said. He rubbed his temples and rested his head against the bars. “Trust me this is the last place I want to be. It’s cold and the food is horrible. How do we not have more lawsuits?”   
“Funny.” Toph deadpanned. She narrowed her eyes at Berk and folded her arms intimidatingly. “I thought you proved your loyalty by ‘kidnapping’ me? If you want to talk about cold try lasting in those cells without any clothes.”   
Berk nodded in agreement. “Point taken. Apparently the kidnapping didn’t convince everyone Hyousuke gave me an ultimatum. Either attack Sokka and Katara or be killed. I couldn’t act suspiciously.”   
“Are you any closer to finding the mole? Or anything that we can put in front of the Fire Nation legal system to get Azula imprisoned.” Flynn prompted. They paused when Toph held up a hand. She felt vibrations signaling to her that the conversation was no longer private. When she couldn’t make out who it was Toph motioned for Flynn to check it out. He patted her on the shoulders before leaving to investigate.  
Berk approached the bars as close as he was able and whispered so low that only Toph could hear. “There isn’t much time Chief. The followers aren’t done. Katara and Sokka are the ones being targeted now. Tell who you have to keep an eye on them. The followers are moving as we speak.”   
“Isn’t there anything more concrete you can tell me? Dates, times anything would be useful.” Toph whispered.   
Berk slammed his fist against his forehead and looked down guiltily. “There is no time.”  
Flynn came back and tapped his foot against the wood. Two quick taps and two long ones a silent signal that they were being listened in on. “Chief go home I can take care of this scumbag from here.”  
“Make sure the council throws the book at him.” Toph snapped. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the hall like she was truly in a mood. She went back to her office in order to talk to Sokka about what little Berk told them. However when she arrived he was gone. After a quick word with the other officers she discovered that he went back to the apartment.   
…  
Sokka felt his heart sink down into his stomach when he heard the door unlock and open. He didn’t move from couch where he was pretending to read the newspaper. For the past hour he has reread the same sentence over and over again unable to really process much of anything.   
“So what are the headlines today?” Toph prompted. The Water Tribesman glanced up to see her leaning against the entrance to the living room. She hid her blush behind her hair, but Sokka could still see traces of it from where her hair parted.   
He cleared his throat and glanced at the paper. “Umm…Taxes why the government is pulling the wool over your eyes.”   
“Are you in the finance section?” Toph asked. “Don’t you normally check the pro bending scores first?”   
“I thought I’d switch it up tonight.” Sokka said lamely. He cleared his throat and set aside his paper. “Look you don’t have to go out of your way to pretend things are normal. What I said back there was said in the heat of the moment…”  
Toph tried to get his attention. “Sokka.”   
He ignored her. “If you’re uncomfortable being around me we can divide the new house in half. I just don’t want this to ruin our friendship…”  
“Sokka.” She tried again with an irritated tone of voice.   
He continued to ignore her. “That’s why I didn’t say anything earlier. I’ve been so worried how my feelings would affect our friendship. You don’t know how valuable what we have is to me. I…”  
“Ugh would you let me get a word in meathead!” Toph roared. “If you did you would already know that I love you too!”   
She hid her face in her hands and tried to retreat to her room. Sokka was too fast. In the blink of an eye he lifted himself from the chair. He caught her in the hallway and spun her around to face him.   
“Did you have to be so forceful?” Sokka murmured. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”   
Toph smirked. “How else was I supposed to get your attention?”   
“I can think of a few ways that wouldn’t take years off my life.” He whispered. Toph stiffened when Sokka put his arms around her waist. He was careful not to squish her growing belly and tried to stay relaxed when Toph placed her hands on his chest. The pair began to move closer and closer. Until they were only centimeters apart.   
Sokka hesitated and pulled back a little bit. “Are you sure?”   
Toph attempted to roll her eyes before she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.


	14. Almost Over

“No that course of action won’t do. Never risk a man until you’ve exhausted all resources.” Toph advised. Sokka was in the middle of making the two of them breakfast while she was taking a call from Flynn. She sat on the kitchen counter swinging her feet lightly as she tried to do some damage control.   
Flynn on the other hand was having none of it. “Chief we need you here. This is the worst possible time to have gone on maternity leave.”   
“Alright calm down Princess, here’s what we’re gonna do.” She playfully nudged Sokka away from her when he began to laugh. “For the time being keep Berk in isolation under no circumstances are you to release him to general population. Tell the press no comment and keep the council at bay until we have all the facts. I’ll come by before the night shift and we’ll figure out where to go from there.”   
She heard a long sigh from the other end of the line. “That will have to do for now. How are you and the baby?”   
“The novelties of pregnancy are wearing off on me.” She admitted. “But we’re both fine. Thanks for asking.”  
They spoke for a few more seconds before Flynn had to go. Toph hung up the phone and massaged her temples with a weary sigh. With Flynn calling more and more it became clear to the earth bender that she had done a poor job of properly delegating her duties.  
Sokka tenderly brushed back her bangs to place a kiss on her forehead. “Easy, you know what Katara said no stress.”  
“I know, I know.” Toph sighed. She placed her head on his shoulder. “It’s hard not to stress when I left so much responsibility in the hands of someone who is clearly not ready for it. If the number of phone calls is any indication.”   
He stepped away from her for a brief moment to take the skillet of the stove. Sokka began to put their breakfast on to two plates he had set aside earlier. “You can hardly fault yourself for that with everything that has happened up to this point. Do you want me to stop by and give Flynn a hand?”   
“That’s really sweet but I’ll handle it.” Toph said.   
Sokka walked past her to set the plates on the table a few feet away from the kitchen. He turned toward the young earth bender with a fond smile. “I still can’t believe it was Berk of all people who attacked us. We’ve known him for so long this can’t have been easy to process.”   
Toph didn’t answer. Instead she turned her face away so that Sokka wouldn’t see her guilty expression. She hadn’t told him that Berk hadn’t actually betrayed them. Toph wasn’t exactly sure how because everything they had done was very illegal.   
“Toph?” Sokka asked curiously.   
She sighed. “Berk didn’t betray anyone.”   
“What are you talking about? I was there when we had to fight him off.” Sokka said. She shook her head and brushed back her bangs. Toph struggled to properly explain what actually happened. The more time passed the more Sokka began to worry.   
To get her attention he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ok, you’re starting to scare me. What happened?”   
“Sit down.” She muttered. With great reluctance Toph began to explain why Berk attacked them, and his mission. When she finished Sokka was furious.   
He began pacing in an attempt to calm himself. “Why in the name of all things holy didn’t you report this?”   
“Because no one would have done anything about it.” Toph muttered. When he opened his mouth to start yelling at her, she held up a hand to stop him. “I know the Fire Nation is outside of my jurisdiction, but whenever I report something that falls outside the lines of Republic City no one does anything! This was too big to just let go.”   
Sokka spun around on his heel to glare at her. “You could have told us Toph! If Azula is able to operate through her followers this concerns us too!”   
“I’m telling you now.” She defended.   
He raised his hands to her face but dropped them a second before he could touch her. Sokka groaned and began to pace again in an attempt to try and process all this information. When a thought came into his head he froze. “Are you only telling me because you had no other choice?”   
“No.” Toph admitted honestly. She made sure he could see her expression clearly when she spoke. Sokka searched her eyes for any sign of a deception. When none could be found slowly he began to calm down.   
When he finally processed what she told him Sokka put a hand on his forehead and sat down with a groan. “It’s too early for this type of a headache.” He reached over to grab a glass of water wishing it was cactus juice. “Alright what do you want to do?”   
“I’m going to…” She put a hand over her belly. Toph’s eyes rounded and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.   
Sokka stood up and ran to her side. “Is it time?”   
“No just a mild contraction I think.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to make sense of the odd sensation. When the feeling didn’t resurface Toph nodded and struggled to remember what she had been saying before. “I need to get to the station. Help Flynn arrange a protection detail around Katara and the kids. Keep the Council at bay. Not to mention warn Zuko of what could happen.”   
She hopped down from the counter and began walking towards the room they shared to change into her uniform. Sokka glanced at her with concern but let her figuring that she wanted to be alone at this particular moment. He picked apart his breakfast but it tasted like ash in his mouth.   
Toph emerged in her uniform but it didn’t look quite right. The armor was stretched the point where it could bear no more her pants were not the usual form fitting ones but black maternity pants. She sighed and reached for her badge to put it in place. “I feel like an engorged war balloon.”   
“You look beautiful.” Sokka countered. He stood up to give her a quick peck on the lips before she left.   
Toph blushed and looked away. “You just say that because you have to.”   
“I still mean it.” He muttered. Sokka wrapped his arms around her and sighed. “Let’s split the work in half. I will talk to the council, and call Iroh and ask him to use the order of the White Lotus to get a discreet message to Zuko. ”  
She looked a little uncomfortable. “Sokka…”  
“I mean it Toph I don’t the fact that you had a contraction and you’re going to work.” He said firmly. Toph was about to lash out at him but stopped herself at the last moment. She began to think about what he was truly proposing and realized that he did in fact have a point. She needed help.   
“Alright fine, but you follow my lead on this.” She said firmly.   
…  
Azula struggled against her handlers as they dragged her from her cell in the middle of the night. Mercilessly they deposited her on the ground in the middle of the lobby room. Right in front of her brother. She raised her head and glared at him. “What is the meaning of this?”   
He was surrounded by guards off to the side was a familiar face cuffed in irons. Azula’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Hyousuke restrained in this manner. She turned her head towards Zuko who was glaring at her harshly no sympathy could be found in her eyes as there once was. At his side was a tiny figure clinging to his hand.   
“What an honor that you finally ordain to allow me to see my niece.” She growled out. Izumi flinched and hid further behind her father afraid of her aunt. Zuko placed a hand upon his daughters head to comfort her.   
Zuko glared at his sister trying to find any sign of remorse or regret for her actions. “I thought you might want to see one of the children that was effected by what you’ve done. Azula I hereby charge you with treason. Guards seize her.”   
“You can’t do this!” She shouted.   
As though to prove her wrong he held up the warrant for his arrest. “You will be imprisoned near the palace until your trial.”   
“You’re too late brother! My followers are on the move they will destroy your little family.” Azula screamed. She tried to fight the guards who forced her into handcuffs however it was to no avail the guards dragged her away from the lobby. She continued to scream about how her followers would destroy all those he cared about. Zuko clutched his head in an attempt to easy the headache that was beginning to form from all Azula’s screaming. He felt his daughter tug on his hand drawing his attention towards her.   
“Father does this mean it’s over?” Izumi asked. She looked up at him horrified when she asked. “Will my aunt be put to death?”   
He knelt down and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “No they won’t put her to death such archaic ways have been outlawed for years. As to everything being over this is only one step of the process. The rest falls on your Aunt Toph and all the evidence she gathered against Azula.”   
“On the phone you were yelling at Auntie Toph. Is she in trouble?” Izumi asked.   
He shook his head. “No, she’s not in any trouble. Thanks to your Uncle Sokka she isn’t in any trouble.”   
…  
Aang held his wife close as they waited for the assassins to come behind them, Bumi, Kya and baby Tenzin slept soundly by the fire. By the door Toph sat ready to bash in the head of any threat that dared enter the room. Outside Sokka, Flynn and several guards waited for any signs of an attack.   
“We used to cool taking out ten bad guys at once.” Katara sighed.   
Aang sighed. “Would you have our children see such violence so young?”   
“Of course not.” Katara muttered. “But I would give them a normal childhood one free of having to hide from the enemies we made.”   
The Avatar glanced over at the three figures of his children sleeping soundly unaware of the danger that know loomed over their heads. He sighed and rubbed his temples anxiously. “Maybe we should use this time to take the kids to visit your father…Toph are you alright?”   
Katara turned her attention to the earth bender who was holding her belly. Toph waved away Aang’s question. “I’m fine. It’s just a tiny contraction.”   
“That does not look like a tiny contraction.” Katara muttered. She moved away from Aang towards the chair Toph sat in. With a quick examination the water bender shook her head and straightened up. “Aang go get Sokka.”   
He looked at her incredulously. “What, why?”   
“Toph is going into labor.”


	15. When a Good Man Goes to War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the title I was watching Doctor Who

Sokka leaned against the wall as he listened to Zuko’s lengthy explanation over the fact that he had no concrete information to give them. Across from him stood Flynn and Berk quietly giving orders to the numerous officers that surrounded the house.   
With a sigh the Councilman pushed himself up from the wall and turned towards the talking piece. “Thanks for the heads up Zuko. We have the house fortified for tonight. If anything happens we’ll be ready for it.”   
“One last word of advice don’t underestimate Azula. Even from a mental institution she’s still extremely dangerous.” Zuko muttered.   
Sokka put a hand on his forehead and rubbed his temples in an attempt to alleviate his headache. To him it felt like the weight of the world had been dumped onto his shoulders and it was difficult to bear. “Thanks buddy. I’ll call to let you know how things turn out.”   
The air in Aang’s office was heavy as he turned to Toph’s two most trusted officers. They both looked at him with so much hope in their eyes, wishing that this was all just a precaution. Sokka shook his head causing their shoulders to slump.   
Flynn was the first to recover. “Alright on the bright side at least we’re somewhat prepared. I have a blueprint of the island and I’ve spread out our resources to look out for the other members of the council even though they’re not specified the risk is still there.”   
The three of them surrounded the map and began to plan out their battle strategy and where to place each soldier.   
…   
He drew his sword when he saw several figures in the shadows. At first he counted twelve, but his heart sank when he heard whistles from all three sides, two sharp whistles and two long ones. That meant twelve coming from each entrance. Forty-eight against fifty officers, not counting Aang, Katara or Toph who waited fortified inside the house. Sokka was relieved that they weren’t outnumbered, but he was weary waiting for the other shoe to drop.   
Flynn ran up next to the Councilman, his weapons drawn ready for the impending fight. “We’re surrounded on all sides. Do you want to proceed as planned?”   
“Yes, give the order.” He said quickly. Sokka drew his sword and waited for Flynn to signal using the whistle. “I won’t let them get near my family.”   
Flynn’s only answer was to whistle three times giving the captains the order to charge. Sokka ran forward sword at the ready to disarm his opponents. The first obstacle came in the form of a bolder aimed for his head. He used his sword to slash the rock in half before engaging the bender in single combat. His suspicions were confirmed the earth bender he fought was lousy at fighting when his bending was rendered ineffective in close quarters.   
Sokka’s ears rang with the crashing sounds of battles going all around him, but he blocked them out to focus on disarming his opponents one at a time. He was in the process of battling a rather pesky fire bender when his attacker was incased in ice. Sokka looked up towards the source to see Aang running towards him. The water tribesman felt his heart sink thinking the worst had happened.   
Aang reached him and began helping the warrior to disarm the twelve enemies that surrounded them. With the help of the Avatar, the officers were left to pile up the unconscious bodies and cart them away to the station for interrogation. When the enemy was neutralized Aang turned to Sokka slightly out of breath. “The baby is coming. Toph needs you, I can handle things here.”   
“Thanks Aang.” Sokka said. He sheathed his sword and started towards the house. When Flynn tried to approach, the Councilman put a hand on the commander’s shoulder and said quickly. “You arrest those traitors and keep an eye on them until the war balloons get here. The prisoners will be transported to the station for questioning.”   
Before Flynn could answer Sokka was gone.   
…   
Toph screamed in agony as another contraction consumed her thoughts. In the background Katara was counting down to accurately determine how far apart the contractions were. The young earth bender sobbed and crutched the sheets for dear life. “I’m going to die on this bed aren’t I?”   
Katara took her hand to reassure her. “No one is going to die. I swear to you.”   
They both turned their heads when the door to the guest room was thrown open. Toph couldn’t see who it was, but she had a good guess. Toph heard the rustle of sheets as Katara moved away from her to confront their intruder.   
“How is she?” Sokka asked frantically.   
Katara filled her bother in on the situation in a hushed whisper. “She is as expected just a little more and she’ll be ready to push.”   
As though the universe wanted to answer him as well, Toph sobbed as another contraction overtook her. She heard footsteps coming towards the bed. A hand took hers and she was comforted by the vibrations of Sokka’s heartbeat.   
Toph squeezed his hand holding onto it for dear life. “I smell blood. Are you injured?”   
“You’re seriously worried about me.” Sokka murmured in surprise. When she glared at him he answered her. “I’m fine it’s not my blood. Are you comfortable? Do you want me to get you anything?”   
The young earth bender shook her head and sighed. “Don’t stop holding my hand. I can’t see anything.”   
Sokka began to reassure her by describing the room in extreme detail. Katara couldn’t help but notice that her brother purposefully omitted color. She made herself busy around the room before going back to Toph’s side and checking on her condition. The water bender placed a hand on her friend’s forehead. “You have a bit of a fever.”   
“I hope you appreciate what I go through for you.” Toph murmured to her stomach. Katara rolled her eyes as reached toward the night stand to place cloth into a bucket of fresh well water and rung it out. The earth bender flinched when she felt the cool compress on her forehead.   
Sokka began losing patience. “Can’t you do something Katara?”   
“I’m doing all that I can Sokka.” Katara murmured. “Right now all we can do is wait.”   
Before the siblings could start fighting with each other the young earth bender intervened. “Who has charge of my officers? Has there been any sign that Azula spoke the truth?”   
“My love, now is clearly not the time to be worrying about that.” Sokka said. He brushed back her bangs to settle the cloth more comfortably against her skin.   
She whimpered and bit down on her lip to keep the screams at bay. When the pain became more manageable Toph spoke her voice hoarse from all the screams. “I am still Chief Toph Beifong of Republic City. It’s important that I keep informed and I need a distraction from the labor pains.”   
“If you insist.” Sokka relented. He glanced at Katara for reassurance that it was ok to speak on such matters. When he got her silent ok Sokka briefly summarized what was going on outside. By the time he had finished Katara was at the end of the bed.   
She lifted the sheets and after a moment announced. “Alright Toph it’s time to push. On the count of three.”   
Katara tried to send Sokka away when Toph’s screams became too unbearable for him to hear. Still the Councilman lasted only a few seconds before he went back to Toph’s side. Along with holding her hand Sokka attempted to coach Toph through the birth, but was quickly silenced by both women.   
Only moments after the wails of a baby could be heard all throughout the house. Katara cooed down at her niece as she proceeded to give the infant her first bath. Across from her Toph rested her head on Sokka’s shoulder completely exhausted.   
“Is she healthy?” Toph asked her voice barely above a whisper.   
Katara swaddled the baby and walked over to place the infant in her mother’s awaiting arms. Sokka peered over Toph’s should and was awestruck. He managed to whisper. “She’s perfect.”


	16. Calm

Toph opened her eyes when she heard Lin begin to get fussy in the middle of the night. For the past two weeks Sokka and Toph had worked out an agreement over who would get up with the baby at what times during the night. Figuring it was her turn she pushed back the seats but stopped when Sokka yawned and mumbled that it was his turn. Toph placed her hand on the wall and watched him get up and shrug on his robe.   
Why does he need his robe? Toph wondered, she shrugged figuring that he was cold. Curious to see what he would do she kept her hand on the wall and watched him. He walked past the crib toward the front room. Toph sat up when he pulled the keys off the hook next to the front door and walked out. When Lin began to cry in earnest Toph rolled out of bed and picked up her daughter to figure out what was wrong. With the exception of their bed and the crib the room was completely bare. The rest of their furniture would arrive tomorrow afternoon.   
When her toe hit the corner of the crib Toph mumbled a string of curses under her breath before scooping her daughter into her arms. It wasn’t time for her to eat just yet and Lin didn’t have a dirty diaper so Toph figured that she was being fussy. Rocking her daughter from side to side the young earth bender sent out vibrations to see what her boyfriend was doing. She furrowed her eyebrows when she managed to spot Sokka across the street checking their mailbox.   
“What are you doing Captain Boomerang?” Toph whispered. When her daughter began to squirm in her arms Toph turned her attention to Lin. “Did you have a bad dream Little Badgermole? It’s alright I’m here, I’m here.”   
When Sokka stumbled back in her dropped his robe onto the bedroom floor and planted a kiss on Toph’s cheek. He yawned and said. “No mail babe.”   
“Sokka.” Toph said with a sharp tone.   
He jerked awake at the sound of her voice and glanced at her. “Yeah?”   
“The baby?” She muttered. Toph held up Lin who was beginning to settle back to sleep. When Sokka made a face of confusion. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Never mind you’re getting up with her next time.”   
…  
Katara hadn’t heard anything from her brother or Toph. Despite Aang’s reassurances that they were fine, she was convinced that they were in major trouble. She piled a basket high with both their favorite foods and put Aang in charge of the kids.   
She marched over to Toph’s apartment bracing herself for the worst. When Katara reached the building she didn’t expect to find the door to the earth bender’s apartment wide open. She walked in and was surprised to find the place had been completely cleared out.   
“They moved into a house yesterday.”  
Katara jumped in surprise and spun around to see Izumi standing in the doorway. The news of a house took a little longer to digest. Sokka had mentioned buying a house, but she never considered the idea that the pair of them would move in together. It just seemed so permanent for a couple who hadn’t been together that long. She furrowed her eyebrows and asked. “You wouldn’t happen to have the current address would you?”   
“I only heard something about 3rd house down on Belt Lane road.” Izu muttered.   
The Water Bender rolled her eyes. “Well no wonder the land line was disconnected. I know that street I’ll see if I can track them down.”   
Izu waved her off. Katara walked off toward the Police station with a confused expression on her face. On the one hand she was very happy for her brother and for Toph. On the other she wondered if maybe they were progressing a little too quickly. Before she could wander off into her thoughts Katara found herself in front of the street that Izu described.  
When she got there it wasn’t hard to spot which house she was looking for. Sokka and Toph were carrying the most comfortable looking sofa Katara had ever seen. Strapped to a baby carrier on Toph’s back was Lin, fast asleep. Sokka reached the doorway first when it became clear that the couch was too big for the doorway. “Babe it’s too small do you think you could expand the doorway just a little bit?”   
“Are you sure you aren’t dreaming this time?” When Sokka gave her a look Toph sighed. “I can try. I need to put the couch down first. Try not to fall asleep and forget that we’re moving.”   
Sokka groaned. “Are you never going to let me live down last night? I don’t even remember what I did because I was so sleep deprived.”   
“I might let it go.” Toph agreed. When her boyfriend sighed in relief she smirked. “Just not today.”   
They set it down at an uneven angle before Toph placed her hand against one of the walls. She double checked that what she was about to do wouldn’t damage the house in anyway. Sokka managed to keep himself from wincing when Toph slammed one elbow and then the other into the entrance wall before pushing on the wall. The entrance moved several inches, enough so that they could push the couch through.   
Katara chose that moment to make herself known. “The two of you could have picked up the phone to tell us. Aang and I could have come to help.”   
“We haven’t gotten the lines up yet.” Sokka explained. The couple picked up the couch and moved it into the living room with Katara following just behind. “The guy from the phone company is supposed to be coming by in an hour.”  
“Except that was three hours ago.” Toph murmured. She whipped the sweat from her forehead and began stuffing the cushions into their proper places. “I’m getting worried Zuko is supposed to call when the jury declares Azula guilty. He wants her to be transferred to Downwater Prison in Republic City.”   
Katara and Sokka both raised their eyebrows in surprise. The councilman shook his head in disbelief. “That’s one of the highest security prisons in Republic City. I don’t believe Zuko would ever send his own sister to a place with such a horrifying reputation.”   
“It has some of the best psychiatric doctors on hand. “ Toph countered. She blew her bangs back into her face. “Despite everything she’s done to him, Zuko truly believes that Azula is capable of reform. He wants her to have all the help she needs to do that.”   
When a knock on the door alerted them that they weren’t alone. Sokka placed a kiss on the top of Toph’s head and went to answer the door. Katara smiled knowingly at her friend when she tried to conceal her blush behind her bangs. “I take it things are going well? Living together as a couple is a big step.”   
“You don’t approve.”  
Katara noted that Toph wasn’t asking. “I don’t have an opinion either way. You’re both adults.”   
“Even though everything is a little fuzzy because I just gave birth to a tiny human, I can still tell that you’re lying.” Toph sighed. When Lin began to cry she unstrapped her from the baby carrier and began to pull down her shirt to breast feed her. “We lived together even before we were a couple. I don’t see the problem now.”   
The water bender sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sat down next to her friend. “I’m not trying to be the hypocrite. I’m overjoyed that the both of you are together, but I worry. Your relationship is still so very new and moving in together, raising a baby together can impact you both emotionally. I’m afraid of what will happen if things don’t work out.”   
“We’ll work it out together as we’ve always done.”   
Even though Toph could see him coming she nearly leapt out of her skin at Sokka’s tone. She could feel his heartbeat race. Mentally she counted the number of beats and concluded that she wasn’t just assuming he was really mad.   
His voice was soft it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. “Katara can I speak with you privately.”   
Toph didn’t dare try to eavesdrop. Instead she focused on her daughter. Lin had finished her meal so the young mother was now in the process of burping her. The thumping sound made her a little nervous but Izu and Katara both told her that gentle pats wouldn’t get Lin to burp. She pulled up her shirt several seconds before the man in charge of their phone line walked in. “Sorry to interrupt Miss, but I just finished setting up the landline on the old number. You have a call from someone who says it’s urgent.”   
“Thank you.” Toph muttered. She stood up and walked into the kitchen with the man behind her in order to gather his tools. She moved to pick up the receiver and realized there was a baby preventing her from doing so. Toph shifted Lin so that she was balanced carefully on her shoulder with one hand. She reached for the receiver and spoke into the speaker. “Hello?”   
She was relieved to hear Zuko’s voice. “Hey, it’s me.”   
“I’m so glad that I didn’t miss your call.” Toph admitted. She bounced on her feet lulling Lin to sleep. “Is everything good to go? I already have the paperwork started all I need is the ok and I can submit it to the council with one phone call.”   
She heard a long sigh on the other end of the phone. The next sounds that Toph heard she could only guess was were him shifting in his chair. “There has been a delay in our plans.”   
“Are Azula’s lawyers trying to file an appeal?” Toph guessed. “That’s going to be tricky but I think we can still swing it.”  
The line was silent for a few moments before Zuko answered. “No, not quite. Geez I don’t even know how to say this.”   
“Just tell me.” Toph chirped. Sokka and Katara came back into the kitchen but she paid them no mind. She pulled Lin closer to her and furrowed her eyebrows. “You’re starting to scare me. What happened what’s going on over there?”   
Those last two questions drew Sokka’s attention. He took Lin from her arms and waited for the call to end. Toph was distracted for a few seconds, but the line was still silent on the other end. After a moment Zuko began. “The jury read the verdict this afternoon. Azula has been declared not guilty.”


	17. The Start

“How did this happen?”   
“What jury in their right minds wouldn’t convict her with all that evidence?”  
“Obviously the jury wasn’t in their right mind.”   
“I can’t believe this six months’ worth of work now rendered completely useless.”   
Toph held up her hands in an attempt to stop the chaos that erupted all around her. The second Zuko told her the news Sokka went to gather their friends so that they could hash this out together. So far gathering everyone had accomplished nothing.  
When it was obvious that the calm approach wouldn’t work Toph placed her fingers to her mouth, and let out a shrill whistle. Sokka and Aang who were standing beside her jumped in surprise and covered their ears to shield themselves from the pain. She made a mental note to thank Chief Hakoda for teaching her how to whistle like that.   
She sighed and lowered her fingers when the room was finally silent. “Panicking like this will accomplish nothing. Zuko are you still with us? Do you have any idea what your sister’s next move will be?”   
“I’m here.” Zuko muttered. The telephone line began to break, but after Toph whacked it with her first she could hear the Firelord clearly again. “That whistle really hurt you know.”   
Toph grinned apologetically before realizing that he couldn’t see it her facial expression. “Sorry Sparky, it was the only way to get everyone’s attention. Have you talked to the jury? Are there any signs of tampering?”   
“That’s not how things work and you know it.” Zuko muttered. She could practically hear his exhaustion. “I can’t just question the Fire Sages over a hunch that they’ve been messed with. That is a very serious accusation, one I can’t pursue without evidence.”   
She slammed her hand against the wall and muttered a long string of curse words under her breath. She felt Sokka’s hand on her shoulder, a silent show of support. Toph sighed and placed her hand over his.   
Aang broke the silence. “Surely there is someone we could talk to who could give us some insight to Azula’s motives. Maybe Mai or Ty Lee?”   
“That’s it!” Toph muttered. She spun around nearly knocking Sokka over. Before he could fall flat on his face she reached out to steady him. When he was secure Toph looked at her lieutenant as though the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. “Berk are you still in contact with that slimy turncoat you flirted with while undercover.”   
Berk turned bright red when all eyes turned to him. He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. “Chief are you incapable of being discreet?”   
“Sorry.” Toph muttered sincerely. She began to pace thinking of possible solutions to the problem at hand. “Do you think you could work your charms on him to get us a lead? If Azula is planning something your guy would be the one to know about it.”   
Her lieutenant mulled it over before sighing. Given the circumstances Berk wasn’t really in a position to say no. He scratched the back of his head in a half-baked attempt to ignore the eyes on him. “Well my cover has been blown after the council released me. I’ll have to pull out some extra charm. It will be difficult, but if I can find us a lead does that mean I get a raise?”   
“We’ll see.” She fired back. Although Toph tried to look serious she couldn’t conceal the left side of her mouth that was raised in a semi smile. “If we can get more information on Azula’s moves we can formulate a strategy to keep her at bay until we find a way to put her behind bars.”   
Berk left the room and took Flynn with him. As he left he mumbled something about calling when everything was arranged. When the door closed Toph untucked her the hair behind her ear and turned towards the phone trying to think of what else needed to be done.   
Aang stopped her. “Now hold on, what if that doesn’t work? We should take precautions the first being that Izumi needs to go underground.”   
“Izumi is safe.” Zuko reassured them. They heard shuffling, Toph raised her fist to hit the phone thinking it was interference, but whatever it was promptly stopped. “The second the jury failed to convict Azula, I had her moved to Ba Sing Se to stay with Uncle Iroh.”   
Toph breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Izumi was safe. “The second Berk comes back. I’m on the next ship to the Fire Nation…”  
“You wouldn’t have any authority in the Fire Nation.” Sokka reminded her. Toph grit her teeth angrily when she realized he was right. Still he felt the need to tell her. “You’re more use here.”   
She turned to glare at him. “Damn it! This is the reason why I kept pushing for the council to draft a system of law that is united in all the nations. The way we run international issues is a joke.”   
“What happened to keeping calm?” Aang prompted.   
Toph sighed and counted back from ten in an attempt to keep from bending a giant bolder at the Avatar’s face. “I hate feeling useless like this. I’m going to head to the station maybe I can pull a few strings to have Azula placed on trial here in Republic City.”   
“That’s not possible.” Zuko said. “There is no precedent.”   
Toph felt Aang and Sokka agree with the Firelord. She refused to believe that they could do nothing. “Have you three learned nothing from our time together? There is always a first. I’m not going to stand by and wait for something terrible to happen before I act.”   
She didn’t give him a chance to answer. Toph grabbed her coat and ran out of the house to the station. Sokka and Aang looked at each other before turning towards the phone. The Avatar sighed and placed a hand over his forehead. “She has a point.”   
Sokka nodded and turned back to the phone. “Sit tight Zuko. We’ll call once we have any information.”   
“Be careful. If word about gets back to Azula that Toph is actively trying to stop her plans…Well I don’t have to tell you that those actions will be perceived as a threat.” Zuko warned.  
When they hung up Aang turned to Sokka. “I’m going to send Katara and the kids to the South Pole for a few days. Azula has it out for us and I don’t want them in the middle of this. Do you want to send Lin too?”   
“I’m not entirely sure. I have the feeling that Azula is a threat to Zuko and Izumi not us.” Sokka muttered. He massaged his temples in an attempt to think with a clear head. Aang walked up and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. “It isn’t my call. I’ll talk to Toph about sending Lin to the South Pole when she gets back.”   
Aang nodded. “I understand.”   
…  
Toph leaned against the filing cabinet as the Attorney General read over everything they had on Azula. Her heart fell when he shook his head. “It’s not enough Toph. What she did was clearly done in the Fire Nation we have no jurisdiction there. If she committed a serious crime here in Republic City I’d have reasonable cause to prosecute her.”   
“So all we need is for her to commit a crime here?” She prompted.   
The Attorney General didn’t like the look in the Chief’s eyes. He tried to dissuade her from whatever plan she was concocting. “You make it sound so simple, but it’s easier said than done. The evidence would need to be beyond dispute. She would have to confess to her crimes, or be caught in the act and even that might not be enough.”   
“Is there no other way? Can’t we use what we have?” Toph asked.   
He shook his head. “The second the evidence was presented in the Fire Nation court it became inadmissible in another court of law. Out of curiosity why wasn’t she declared guilty in the Fire Nation?”   
“Jury tampering, is my best guess.” Toph muttered. “We don’t have anything concrete.”   
He nodded and placed the papers in a stack. Turning to hand the papers to the Chief of Police the Attorney General jumped in surprise when the door to his office suddenly flew open. Toph wasn’t too surprised when Berk crashed through the door. “Wait…aren’t you supposed be on maternity leave? Why are you here and not one of your subordinates?”   
“Several council members are already against me because I’m a woman.” Toph groaned. She pushed back her bangs and flopped down onto a chair across from him. “If I take more than a few days off they’ll have the ammo they need to keep me from being reelected for Chief of Police.”  
Kieran looked at her sympathetically. Before he could say anything there was a knock at his door. Berk walked in without waiting for the Attorney General to answer. The lieutenant’s eyes were wide with horror and his hands shook. “Chief I need to talk to you in private.”   
“Whatever you have to say can be said in front of the Attorney General Lieutenant.” Toph muttered in irritation.   
“New orders came from Azula. All followers are to make their way to a secret location.” Berk muttered. He cleared his throat unsure how to say this next part. “She’s raising an army to challenge the Fire Nation and take the throne by force.”


End file.
